Democratic Republic of Congo: Peacekeeping Operations

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Stroud of 2 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1235W, on the Democratic Republic of Congo: peacekeeping operations, what the proposed UK support to the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) will consist of; and what progress has been made on the secondment of the small number of appropriately skilled individuals from the UK to fill vacant posts on the MONUC staff.

Gillian Merron: In addition to the five British personnel currently seconded to UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) (MONUC), the UN Secretariat announced on 9 April 2009 that our candidate for the position of Deputy Force Commander slot had been accepted. He is scheduled to take up his post in May 2009, by which time the total number of UK personnel in the mission will be seven. The UK pays 7.8 per cent. of the total cost of MONUC. In addition, the UK, through the Africa Conflict Prevention Pool, has allocated £2.5 million for conflict prevention work in DRC this financial year.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Peacekeeping Operations

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Richmond, Yorks (Mr. Hague) of 11 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1999W, on the Democratic Republic of Congo: peacekeeping operations; what progress has been made on securing  (a) the second authorised infantry battalion,  (b) two special forces companies and  (c) a second formed police unit for the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo; and what discussions he has had with potential contributors.

Gillian Merron: The UN Secretariat has secured the additional infantry and special forces capabilities from Bangladesh, Jordan and Egypt and is in discussions with potential contributors to provide the second formed police unit. These additional personnel are scheduled for deployment in July. The UK has led calls for the reinforcement of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) and lobbied troop contributing countries.

Iran: Sanctions

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions since 27 December 2006 the UN Sanctions Committee established pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1737 has recommended ways to strengthen the effectiveness of sanctions imposed on Iran by the resolution; and what the outcome was of the recommendation in each instance.

David Miliband: The UN Sanctions Committee for UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1737 (2006) has reported to the UN Security Council at least every 90 days on its work, as required by UNSCR 1737. The reports comment on the implementation of the Resolution and recommend ways to strengthen the effectiveness of the sanctions measures. The Committee has submitted nine reports since 27 December 2006. Full details of the UN Sanctions Committee reports are publicly available at:
	http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1737/selecdocs.shtml
	The UN Security Council considers all recommendations made by the Committee. Recommendations that have been implemented include the creation of a model text to assist members states in drafting their reports to the Committee, and making the consolidated lists of individuals and entities subjects to assets freezes and travel bans more user-friendly.

Israel: Arms Trade

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer by Lord Davies of Oldham of 13 March 2009,  Official Report, House of Lords, WA288, on Israel, what the remit of his Department's assessment of arms exports is; and when he expects the assessment to be complete.

David Miliband: I refer the right hon. Member to the written ministerial statement I made on 21 April 2009,  Official Report, column 8WS.

Somalia: Piracy

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Daventry of 18 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1187W, on piracy, what the outcome was of the 5 March 2009 meeting of experts from the International Contact Group on Somalia; and whether the International Contact Group has issued guidance on the arrest and transfer of persons suspected of committing acts of piracy.

David Miliband: The chairman's summary of Contact Group Working Group 2 can be found online at
	http://www.africa-union.org/root/ua/Conferences/2009/mars/PSC/16MARSBIS/CGPCS_WG%202.pdf
	The role of the Working Group is to provide advice to the governments of member states, the Contact Group countries and to the participating organisations, not itself to issue guidance. The Working Group discussed national legislation, the exercise of jurisdiction, arrangements between states, capacity building and potential future work areas for the Group. The Contact Group meeting in Cairo on 17 March 2009 recognised the need for the Working Group to continue its work. The Contact Group also agreed to task the Working Group to set the legal framework for a possible International Trust Fund to help defray the expenses associated with prosecution of suspected pirates as well as to support the costs of other activities related to implementing contact group objectives regarding combating piracy in all its aspects.

Uganda: Politics and Government

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer of 20 October 2008,  Official Report, column 99W, on Uganda: politics and government, what reports he has received on the trial of Lieutenant Ramathan Magara of the Uganda Army following the shooting of three people at Dr. Kizza Besigye's election rally in February 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: We have received no further reporting on the trial of Lieutenant Ramathan Magara of the Ugandan Army since October 2008, but understand his case is still pending.
	The responsibility for investigating incidents such as this lies with the local authorities. However, we continue to regularly raise with the Ugandan Government the importance of good governance, the rule of law, engaging with the opposition and building towards the next elections in 2011.

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Walsall North of 16 March 2009 concerning a constituent reference PO3/09295/2009.

Stephen Timms: I have replied to the hon. Member.

Members: Correspondence

Mark Harper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to respond to the letters from the hon. Member for the Forest of Dean of 13 March and 26 March 2009 on Equitable Life, reference LT2480.

Ian Pearson: A reply should be provided shortly. I apologise for the delay.

Trade Unions

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Castle Point of 23 June 2009,  Official Report, column 129W, on trade unions, what office facilities are provided for the exclusive use of each of the recognised trade union in  (a) his Department,  (b) the Crown Estate,  (c) HM Revenue and Customs and  (d) the Valuation Office Agency; and what the notional monetary value of such provision is.

Angela Eagle: The information requested is in the following table:
	
		
			  Department HM Treasury  Facilities 
			 HM Treasury Office provided exclusively for the use of recognised trade union staff 
			 HMRC No central record of exclusive office use held 
			 VOA No exclusive use of office facilities provided 
		
	
	No information is available on notional annual value.
	The Crown Estate is not an Agency of the Treasury.

Valuation Office: Conferences

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 9 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1629W, on the Valuation Office: overseas visits, if he will place in the Library a copy of the presentation and handouts presented by the representative of the Valuation Office Agency at the Australian Valuer General, Registrar General and Surveyor General's Conference in Adelaide.

Stephen Timms: A copy of the presentation, made by a representative of the Valuation Office Agency, is available to view online at the Government of Australia Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure website at
	http://lac2008.landservices.sa.gov.au/Industry_Day/2Presentations.asp#tretton

Valuation Office: Conferences

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 9 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1629W, on the Valuation Office: overseas visits, if he will place in the Library a copy of the presentation and handouts presented by the representative of the Valuation Office Agency at the Mass Appraisal Valuation Symposium in Toronto.

Angela Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) on 12 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1261W.

Valuation Office: Conferences

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 9 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1629W, on the Valuation Office: overseas visits, what seminars officials of the Valuation Office Agency attended during the visit to the Gartner's Symposium/IT(xpo) in Cannes.

Angela Eagle: One person visited Cannes to attend the Gartner's Symposium/IT (xpo). Attendance at Symposiums and conferences provides benefit to both the Agency and the individual, particularly in terms of keeping them abreast of developments and innovation in IT.
	The seminars attended were:
	Jump Start 2009; Mobilising People Process and Technology
	Perfecting the three pillars of Vendor Management: Contract, Relationship and Performance
	Delivering Difference: The 2009 CIO Agenda
	The 2008 Gartner Scenario: The current State and Future Direction of the IT industry
	Bring Facebook, Wikipedia and Del.icio.us In House: Why Consumer Social Software is better than what you are paying for
	Making the transformation to a Next-Generation Data Centre
	Governing and Managing Application Organisations
	The future of Infrastructure and Operations
	Mastermind Interview: Ian Livingstone, CEO, BT
	The end of the line for IT Organisations/Type Z IT and what it could mean for you
	The Future of Government is no Government
	Autonomy: Solution Provider Session
	Designing the IT Organisation for Maximum Effectiveness
	Mastermind Interview: Contradictions and Balance: Business is IT and IT is Business
	The Futuristic CIO
	What does IT Asset Management mean to your business?
	Best practice in applying Lean in IT

Valuation Office: Conferences

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the presentation and handouts presented by the representative of the Valuation Office Agency at the European Valuation Standards 2009 conference held in Warsaw on 1 April 2009.

Stephen Timms: A copy of the presentation and handouts will be placed in the Library.

Damian McBride

Dai Davies: To ask the Prime Minister how many emails to  (a) governmental and  (b) non-governmental recipients were sent by Damian McBride from his Government email account between 1 September 2008 and 11 April 2009.

Gordon Brown: Civil servants, including special advisers are required to abide by their respective codes of conduct and guidance on the use of official resources.

Iraq: Iran

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to discuss the matter of the protected persons status of persons in Ashraf City, Iraq under the Geneva Conventions with the Prime Minister of Iraq during his visit to London on 30 April 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Gordon Brown: I discussed a wide range of issues with Prime Minister Maliki. I refer my hon. Friend to the press conference I held with Prime Minister Maliki on 30 April 2009; a transcript of which is available on the No. 10 website:
	http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page19193.

Members: Allowances

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister what assessment he made of the merits to accepting the offers of meetings to discuss reform of hon. Members' allowances made by  (a) the right hon. Member for Sheffield Hallam and  (b) the right hon. Member for Witney before announcing his proposals on the matter on 21 April.

Gordon Brown: I have met the right hon. Member for Witney (Mr. Cameron) and the right hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Mr. Clegg) to discuss these issues.

Pakistan: Nuclear Weapons

Dai Davies: To ask the Prime Minister whether Pakistan's nuclear weapons were discussed during his visit to Pakistan on 27 April 2009.

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister whether he made representations to President Zardari on the re-assertion of central government control in Swat during his recent meeting with him.

Gordon Brown: I discussed a wide range of issues on my recent visit to Pakistan. I refer the hon. Member and my hon. Friend to the press conference I held with Prime Minister Gilani on 27 April 2009; a transcript of which is available on the No. 10 website:
	http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page19148.
	I also refer the hon. Member and my hon. Friend to the statement I made to the House on 29 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 869-73.

Conferences

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which  (a) Ministers and  (b) others attended the local media summit on 28 April 2009.

Andy Burnham: The local media summit on 28 April 2009 was attended by myself and my noble Friend Lord Carter of Barnes.
	The event was attended by representatives from a wide range of stakeholder groups, including the National Union of Journalists, the Society of editors, the Newspaper Society, Ofcom, the Press Association, as well as other Members of Parliament and key stakeholders from national and local television and radio.

Conferences: Official Hospitality

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department spent  (a) in total and  (b) on (i) venue hire, (ii) food and drink and (iii) travel costs in respect of its local media summit on 28 April 2009.

Andy Burnham: My Department spent nothing on venue hire, food and drink, or travel costs for the local media summit of 28 April.

14 Tothill Street

Caroline Spelman: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the answer of 9 March 2009,  Official Report, column 26W, on 14 Tothill Street, if he will place in the Library a copy of the memorandum of understanding between the House of Commons and House of Lords.

Nick Harvey: The terms of the memorandum are still under discussion. When it is agreed it will be placed in the Library.

Parliament: Internet

David Amess: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission for what reasons the Parliamentary intranet was not available on 26 April; what steps the Commission  (a) has taken and  (b) plans to take to reduce the number of occasions when the intranet is not available; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: There were no reported problems with the availability of the intranet service on 26 April 2009.
	The parliamentary technology infrastructure is being replaced over a three-year period. The replacement improves resilience in order to reduce the number of breakdowns in services. The replacement programme is one third completed and some services, such as the intranet service, are already more resilient than they were in April 2008.

High-Speed Rail

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on a high-speed rail link between London and Scotland.

Ann McKechin: Mr right hon. Friend and I have discussions with colleagues on a wide range of issues.

Cycling: Torbay

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding his Department is providing to Torbay local authority for the National Cycle Network in 2009-10.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport does not provide funding directly to local authorities for specific projects such as the National Cycle Network, although they may choose to spend some of their LTP funding on this.
	In 2009-10 the Department has made available £7 million in grant funding to Sustrans for a Links to School programme to provide children with high quality cycle and walking routes to schools, linked to the National Cycle Network and local cycle networks.
	Torbay has not yet applied for any of this although they have until September 2009 to apply to Sustrans for match funding for such links.

Departmental Pay

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 28 April 2009,  Official Report, column 1223W, on departmental pay, what the equivalent figures are for each year since his Department was established.

Geoff Hoon: The number of Civil Servants in DFT to receive a non-consolidated performance payment (NCPP) each year since the Department was established is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Total number of staff who received one or more NCPP  Percentage of staff receiving NCPP  Total NCCP paid (£) 
			 2003-04(1) 4,814 47 2,020,828 
			 2004-05(2) 5,537 50 1,881,308 
			 2005-06 13,682 71 8,212,780 
			 2006-07 14,906 77 10,290,961 
			 2007-08 13,472 72 8,909,692 
			 (1) These figures exclude SCS and DVLA which are not available. (2) These figures exclude DVLA which are not available.

M18: Lorries

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1603W, on M42: lorries, if he will consider the merits of prohibiting heavy goods vehicles from travelling in the outside lane on those stretches of the M18 where there are only two lanes.

Paul Clark: There are currently no plans to implement a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) overtaking lane on the M18.

M25: Road Traffic

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will request the Highways Agency to conduct a preliminary study of  (a) the construction of slip roads at junction 5 of the M25 and  (b) the effect this would have on the alleviation of heavy lorry congestion from cross-channel routes.

Paul Clark: Following consideration of the recommendations of the ORBIT multi-modal study, the then Secretary of State in his response, asked the Highways Agency to carry out further work on possible improvements to Junction 5 of the M25.
	The objectives of this work were to consider the technical feasibility of building slips roads to connect the M26 to the A21 south of the M25. An initial assessment was completed in 2004 and concluded that although improvements were feasible, further work was necessary to determine whether such options would provide value for money. This work is being progressed by the Highways Agency and its findings will be considered alongside our exercise to establish spending priorities for transport across modes after 2014.
	In light of that, the Government do not consider it necessary at this stage to commission further additional work on improvements to Junction 5 of the M25.

Railways: Job Creation

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of jobs likely to be created by planned work on  (a) electrification of parts of the rail network,  (b) construction of high speed rail routes and  (c) re-opening of disused railway lines.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport is working with the rail industry to explore the case for further electrification, in particular of the Great Western and Midland main lines. However, until a decision has been made on whether to take forward such schemes, the extent of the planned electrification and the timescale for doing the work, it is not possible to estimate the number of jobs that might be created.
	High speed two has been formed to develop the case for high speed services between London and Scotland. As a first stage it will report by the end of the year with a proposed route from London to the West Midlands, setting out any necessary options. Until a decision is made regarding the construction of a new line or lines, it is not possible to say how many jobs might be created.
	The Government's priority is to maintain and enhance the existing network. Local authorities may put forward proposals to reopen disused lines if they believe this is the best way to meet local transport needs. Construction and manpower for such proposals are a matter for the authority in question.

Transport: Standards

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to ensure that his Department provides timely assistance and advice to local transport bodies seeking to introduce quality control measures.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport (DfT) provides a range of Guidance to local transport authorities and other bodies. For example, the Department has recently consulted on draft Guidance to inform the next local transport plans, which are due in April 2011. This draft Guidance sets out the importance of effective programme, project and risk management, and DfT aims to produce further detailed advice on this subject in due course.
	The Department has also issued detailed guidance in respect of some of the measures included in the Local Transport Act 2008, for example in relation to Quality Partnership schemes that a local authority may make to improve their bus services. There will be further consultation and guidance during 2009 on quality contracts. officials are supporting that through ongoing engagement with regional and local authorities and bus operators.

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 21 April 2009,  Official Report, column 570W, on abortion, what the causes of death were in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The information collected on this issue is available in the successive reports of the confidential enquires into maternal deaths (CEMACH), and these reports are available from CEMACH. There were three maternal deaths following termination of pregnancy from 2003-05. One death resulted from severe anaemia from haemorrage from retained products, and the cause of death in the other two cases was unclear.

Dietary Supplements: EU Law

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on applications to the European Food Safety Authority for the approval of statements submitted under Article 13.1 of the EU Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation.

Dawn Primarolo: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has kept a record of all claims submitted to the United Kingdom under Article 13(1) of the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation for application to the European Union list, and subsequent correspondence with submitters. Details of the consolidated EU list of health claims undergoing assessment, which also includes applications submitted by other member states, is publicly available on the European Food Safety Authority's website. The FSA has kept stakeholders fully informed of developments with the Article 13 process and will continue to do so as work progresses.

Health Services: Non-profit Making Associations

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the likely effect on future commissioning services in primary care trusts of the provision for healthcare made by social enterprises.

Phil Hope: The Department has not made such an assessment.
	National health service commissioning is focused upon improving the quality of care, personalisation and improving outcomes for individuals. Patient choice and increasing the plurality of providers are key to this.
	Primary care trusts are currently developing their commissioning plans for community services, which includes considering future patterns of provision, including social enterprises.

Hospitals: Furniture

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what work his Department has undertaken with  (a) the Design Council and  (b) the National Health Service on the development of new furniture design for hospitals to reduce the incidence of healthcare acquired infections in hospitals.

Ann Keen: In autumn 2007, the Department held workshops with around 500 national health service doctors, nurses and cleaning staff at which ideas were gathered about what kinds of technology might be used to further help combat health care associated infections more effectively. From the 150 ideas generated, 10 were prioritised as showing the most promise and these have been subject to design and development programmes since that time. Among the 10 prioritised ideas are two items of furniture—a waste bin/locker and a new style commode. Working prototypes are currently subject to clinical trials at University College London Hospital.
	Additionally, the Department commissioned the Design Council to deliver a competition in which designers joined forces with manufacturers to develop working prototypes of furniture for the bedside environment (patient chair, bedside storage and overbed table), a porter's chair and a commode. The Design Council also worked with the Royal College of Art's Helen Hamlyn Centre to design innovations in a further five areas, one of which was a new style 'intelligent' patient bed mattress. These prototypes have now been launched and will be showcased over the next three weeks at seven NHS hospitals and then at a number of health care conferences through until the autumn.

NHS: Drugs

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1235W, on orphan drugs, when he expects to publish the Government's response to the consultation.

Dawn Primarolo: The joint Department of Health and National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) consultation on a revised topic selection process for technology appraisals will close on 22 May. The Department and NICE will publish information on action following the consultation later this year.

NHS: Pensions

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of pension payments made to NHS employees was who took early retirement between the date of their retirement and the date they reached the NHS Pension scheme normal retirement age was in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: The information requested is not available in the form requested. The total premature retirement costs including the cost of paying pensions and lump sum early, enhancements of lump sum and enhanced service after normal retirement age are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  £000 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Premature retirement costs prefunded (one-off capitalised costs) 67,581 52,470 51,609 162,578 198,567 
			 Premature retirement costs quarterly recharge 0 65,281 64,235 64,742 A 62,732 
			  Note: National health service organisations had a choice of paying for premature retirement either by quarterly recharge of actual costs or by a one off capitalised charge.  Source: NHS Pensions

NHS: Pensions

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance the NHS Pension scheme has issued on the award of enhancements under the scheme to NHS staff who are members of the scheme and who  (a) are made redundant,  (b) take early retirement on grounds of ill health and  (c) take early retirement on grounds other than those of ill health.

Ann Keen: The enhancements available to staff who retire early are set out in the scheme regulations and a booklet entitled "Notes for pensioners and their dependants" which provides general guidance about their pension and related issues for example the process for payment of retirement benefits. In addition, a booklet containing guidance about the scheme is provided to all national health service staff on entry into the service and is also available on the NHS Pensions website. Copies have been placed in the Library.
	The specific arrangements are as follows:
	 (a) Staff over minimum pension age who are made redundant can elect to use their redundancy payment to pay for their pension to be taken early without actuarial reduction. For staff in post in October 2006, transitional arrangements allowing some enhancements are also available until October 2011.
	 (b) Since April 2008, the NHS Pension scheme has two tier ill-health retirement arrangements. Staff who for reasons of ill-health are permanently incapable of efficiently discharging the duties of their employment (the 'tier 1 condition') are eligible for early payment of pension without reduction. Staff who are permanently incapable of regular employment of like duration (the 'tier 2 condition') in addition to meeting the tier 1 condition are eligible for an enhancement of two thirds of pensionable service until their normal pension age.
	 (c) The other forms of early retirement available are voluntary early retirement where the member has their pension reduced actuarially and retirement in the interests of the service where the employer pays for the cost of the members retiring without a reduction for early payment of pension.

Organic Food

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the potential effects on public health of organic foods in the last 10 years.

Dawn Primarolo: The Food Standards Agency has advised that it has commissioned an independent systematic literature review to evaluate the evidence on nutrient content differences between organic and conventionally-produced foodstuffs and any associated health benefits. The review has just been completed and the results have been submitted by the researchers to a peer-reviewed scientific journal. The full review report will be made available at the same time as the summary results are published in the scientific press.
	The Agency continues to assess new research on organic foods as it is published.

Swine Flu: Royal Family

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has made arrangements to monitor the health of members of the Royal Family during the current outbreak of swine influenza in Mexico.

Dawn Primarolo: The royal family has its own medical advisers to monitor their health. Clearly, all information issued by this Department is available to everyone, including members of the royal family.

Telecommunications: Health Hazards

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies his Department has  (a) conducted and  (b) evaluated on the effects on public health of long-term exposure to wireless internet networks.

Dawn Primarolo: The Health Protection Agency (HPA) advises the Government in relation to the protection of communities from radiation hazards, including those associated with exposure to non-ionising radiation such as the radio waves from wireless communication systems. The Agency has concluded that there is no consistent evidence to date that exposure to radio waves from wireless networks adversely affects the health of the general population. On the basis of current knowledge and experience, exposures are likely to be lower than those from mobile phones and well within the internationally accepted guidelines from the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). The Agency also considers it sensible, as with any new technology, to adopt a precautionary approach, and keeps the situation under review.
	HPA announced in October 2007 that it was to carry out a systematic programme of research into wireless local area networks (WLANs) and their use. At the same time HPA stressed that it had good reasons to expect the results from this research to be reassuring and that there is no reason why schools and others should not use wireless fidelity (WiFi) equipment. This work is ongoing and expected to be complete in 2010. It includes assessments of exposures around selected items of WiFi equipment through measurements and computer modelling and is part of the Agency's ongoing programme of work in the area of electromagnetic fields. Details can be seen on the HPA web site at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPAweb&HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1195733726123?p=1171991026241
	In addition to its own research, HPA monitors studies being carried out by others, and conducts comprehensive reviews of the scientific evidence. Its independent Advisory Group on Non-ionising radiation (AGNIR) also prepares reviews of the evidence for health effects. The most recent AGNIR review of health effects in relation to radio waves was published in 2003 (see Documents of the NRPB, volume 14, number 2) and this is also available on the HPA website. AGNIR is about to prepare another review of the health effects of radio wave exposures and this is expected to take two to three years to complete.

Trade Unions

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to the answer of 9 March 2009,  Official Report, column 55W, on trade unions, what office facilities his Department provides for the exclusive use of each recognised trade union; and what the notional annual value of such provision is.

Paul Murphy: No exclusive office facilities are provided in Wales Office premises but as our staff are employed by Ministry of Justice or the Welsh Assembly Government, office facilities are offered by each of these organisations.

Bloody Sunday Tribunal of Inquiry

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the Saville Inquiry has spent on security for  (a) legal companies and  (b) witnesses.

Shaun Woodward: I am advised that the Bloody Sunday inquiry has spent approximately £3.4 million on security to the end of January 2009. There have been no specific costs incurred by the inquiry associated with providing security for either legal teams or witnesses.
	Various security measures were provided by the Government in relation to security for witnesses. These measures ranged from physical protection by the police and security guards, to IT security for the protection of witness information. Given the nature of such security measures, the duration of the inquiry and the distribution of costs throughout various Government Departments and Agencies, I am advised that a figure could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.

Racially Aggravated Offences

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many racially-motivated assaults in Northern Ireland were reported in  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2008; and how many successful prosecutions there were arising from such assaults.

Paul Goggins: In 2006-07 there were 251 and in 2007-08 there were 204 reported racially-motivated assaults/wounding. Data include the offence categories of, 'wounding with intent', 'grievous bodily harm with intent', 'wounding,' 'grievous bodily harm', 'assault occasioning actual bodily harm', 'common assault', 'aggravated assault' and 'assault on police'.
	The information sought on successful prosecutions is not available. Legislation for racial hatred is provided for by way of The Criminal Justice (No. 2) (Northern Ireland) Order 2004. Under this Order, penalties for convictions for specified violent offences can be increased by the Court if racial hatred, sexual orientation, gender or disability was an aggravating factor. Court data do not contain background information in relation to offences committed and it is therefore not possible to separate out the number of successful prosecutions for racially motivated offences in Northern Ireland.

Trade Unions

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 16 March 2009,  Official Report, column 826W, on trade unions, which trade unions his Department's agencies recognise.

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office agencies attach great importance to ensuring effective consultation and involvement of its staff. It is a personal decision whether or not to join a trade union; however the Agencies encourage staff to join an appropriate trade union and to play an active part in it, ensuring their views are represented.
	Members of staff in the Northern Ireland Office agencies are currently represented by the following trade unions:
	Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance (NIPSA);
	First Division Association (FDA);
	Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS);
	National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT);
	Prison Officer's Association (POA);
	Unison;
	Prison Governor's Association (PGA).

Ashwell Prison

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what factors he took into account when deciding on the nature of the review of the disturbance at HM Prison Ashwell on 11 April 2009.

David Hanson: There are a number of types of incident where the National Offender Management Service automatically initiates an investigation and the disturbance at Ashwell was clearly a matter which required investigation.
	The Chief Operating Officer of NOMS was the Commissioning Authority for the investigation. He asked the Head of National Operations Group, who has significant operational experience to lead the investigation, supported by the Governor of HMP Stafford.
	I will make the findings of the investigation and our conclusions on it available to the House in due course.

Ashwell Prison

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prison officers constitute the normal night staff team at HM Prison Ashwell; and how many prison officers were on duty on the night of 10-11 April 2009.

David Hanson: The normal staffing levels for night patrol at HMP Ashwell are eight operational support grades (OSG), four prison officers and one senior officer. On the night of 10-11 April staffing levels exactly matched normal levels with the addition of another senior officer who was on induction for night duties and was shadowing a colleague.

Community Service Orders

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost to the public purse has been of advertising the Community Payback Scheme; and what role members of the public have in determining the work undertaken by offenders.

David Hanson: The Community Payback campaign aims to raise awareness of Community Payback by inviting members of the public to vote for unpaid work to be completed by offenders in their area.
	Since the creation of the Ministry of Justice, £63,000 has been spent on advertising Community Payback across 59 pioneer areas in England and Wales in March/April 2009. Funding was provided by the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice incurred no costs. The campaign invited the public to vote on a selected number of projects running in participating areas or to nominate new projects.
	In 2007-08 55,771 people successfully completed community payback sentences. This amounts to over eight million hours of labour, used to benefit the community. The majority of the public surveyed in 2008 wanted to have a say on the type of work that was undertaken by offenders.
	The Mayoral Project which involves Mayors and Civic Leaders to identify and sponsor Community Payback work project during their year in office, incurred no advertising costs nationally.

National Offender Management Service

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will take steps to ensure that there is no duplication in the workload of National Offender Management Service regional directors and HM Prison Service area managers; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: One of the key objectives of NOMS is to protect the public and reduce re-offending. The new Regional Directors of Offender Management (DOM) will be accountable for this objective by achieving effective integration of the work of all agencies across the region. Each will lead by developing relationships and creating and implementing a strategic vision focused on outcomes. Optimising the integration of the Prison and Probation Services at local and regional levels will be a key part of their role to protect the public, reduce re-offending and improve performance.
	Following a comprehensive review and restructure of the regional organisation, the role of Area Manager no longer exists. Instead, each DOM will be supported by a team of regional managers, each with a specific portfolio of work, in line with overall strategy, reporting to the DOM.
	The demarcation lines between the strategic role of the DOM and the more delivery focused roles of their senior management Team will remove the opportunity for duplication.

Prison Service: Management

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will commission a review of the effectiveness of management at HM Prison Service headquarters; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The effectiveness of management at NOMS Headquarters is under constant review through the use of Key Performance Targets and either the Senior Civil Service or NOMS performance management system. The Agency also has a management and leadership development framework in place to assess and develop managers' behavioural competence and effectiveness. I do not believe there is a need to commission a separate review.

Prisoners Release

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners have been released in each month since the inception of the end of custody licence scheme, broken down by category of offence.

Jack Straw: Information on the number of prisoners released under the End of Custody Licence (ECL) scheme each month and by offence group can be found in the following tables.
	The figures presented in the answer are published monthly and available on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/endofcustodylicence.htm
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	
		
			  Monthly ECL releases by offence group 
			   Violence against the person ( 1)  Sexual offences ( 2)  Robbery  Burglary  Theft and handling 
			 29 June-5 July 2007 344 0 24 149 404 
			 6-31 July 2007 359 2 54 210 475 
			 August 2007 439 0 48 247 582 
			 September 2007 402 0 50 205 486 
			 October 2007 495 2 50 241 575 
			 November 2007 494 0 54 222 594 
			 December 2007 467 0 69 225 566 
			 January 2008 484 1 60 231 512 
			 February 2008 467 2 53 186 574 
			 March 2008 536 1 61 218 623 
			 April 2008 509 0 75 258 573 
			 May 2008 472 0 70 217 599 
			 June 2008 507 0 71 268 616 
			 July 2008 532 0 60 229 619 
			 August 2008 524 1 61 218 545 
			 September 2008 569 0 82 246 616 
			 October 2008 541 0 78 223 637 
			 November 2008 506 0 61 242 555 
			 December 2008 569 0 60 258 647 
			 January 2009 461 0 70 234 515 
			 February 2009 425 0 51 229 519 
			 March 2009 554 0 61 274 582 
		
	
	
		
			   Fraud and forgery  Drug offences  Motoring offences  Other offences  Offence not recorded  All offences 
			 29 June-5 July 2007 37 65 219 427 32 1,701 
			 6-31 July 2007 42 92 258 602 37 2,131 
			 August 2007 44 95 328 666 44 2,493 
			 September 2007 44 103 288 567 50 2,195 
			 October 2007 29 122 323 735 40 2,612 
			 November 2007 56 114 331 705 40 2,610 
			 December 2007 39 100 285 660 44 2,455 
			 January 2008 38 99 287 637 37 2,386 
			 February 2008 57 105 279 692 43 2,458 
			 March 2008 60 102 332 691 51 2,675 
			 April 2008 52 116 305 705 38 2,631 
			 May 2008 53 105 294 691 31 2,532 
			 June 2008 54 117 257 724 56 2,670 
			 July 2008 68 120 274 676 48 2,626 
			 August 2008 62 113 275 648 39 2,486 
			 September 2008 57 112 272 745 46 2,745 
			 October 2008 59 103 324 775 35 2,775 
			 November 2008 38 113 283 701 40 2,539 
			 December 2008 58 117 291 746 49 2,795 
			 January 2009 42 110 246 572 42 2,292 
			 February 2009 46 104 215 681 40 2,310 
			 March 2009 57 128 268 776 49 2,749 
			 (1) Excludes serious violent offences such as murder, manslaughter, wounding with intent to commit grievous bodily harm, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, child cruelty and serious explosives offences. A full list of exclusions can be found in Prison Service Instruction 42/2007 (which consolidates and replaces PSI 27/2007). (2) Prisoners subject to the notification requirements of the Sex Offenders Act 1997/Sexual Offences Act 2003 are excluded from release on ECL. Not all offences of a sexual nature are subject to the notification requirements; such prisoners are therefore eligible for release on ECL.

Prisons: Public Consultation

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the statement of 27 April 2009, on prisons and probation, when he plans to begin consultations on the proposed prison site at Curborough; when he expects to publish the exact location of the proposed site; when he expects to announce his decision on whether to site a prison at Curborough; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: As I announced on 27 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 569-80, we will not be proceeding with the 2,500 place 'Titan' prisons, but we will be building 1,500 place prisons instead. There are no current plans for prisons on any of the sites listed other than those named by me in Parliament on 27 April.
	The site at Curborough was one of a number of sites brought to the attention of the National Offender Management Service as part of the site search exercise for 'Titan' prisons to hold 2,500 prisoners. It was assessed, but not considered suitable for development as a Titan.

Angling: Planning Permission

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough of 17 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1096W, on angling, if she will ensure that the review of planning application fees takes into account the effect on the construction of fishing lakes by commercial enterprises of changes in the levels of  (a) planning fees and  (b) mineral extraction charges.

Iain Wright: The Government are currently conducting a review of planning application fees and as part of that review, we are assessing the effect of recent increases on the construction of fishing lakes.

Audit Commission: Public Relations

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough of 12 March 2009,  Official Report, column 752W, on publicity, what projects were undertaken by each of the public relations companies hired by the Audit Commission; and for what reason the Commission did not use its own staff in each case.

Sadiq Khan: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I have asked the chief executive of the Audit Commission to respond to the hon. Member direct.
	 Letter from Steve Bundred, dated 6 May 2009:
	Your Parliamentary question outlined above has been passed to me to reply.
	Geronimo Communications—£45,600
	The Audit Commission contracted with Geronimo, an advertising and communications company, to supply an interim Director of Communications to cover the gap between the resignation of Jenny Grey, who left the Audit Commission to become Director of Communications at the Cabinet Office, and the appointment of a successor. The payment covered the services of a senior executive with board level experience, Marina Pirotta, from June to October 2008. Ms Pirotta brought experience and knowledge that was, by definition, not available within the commission.
	Consolidated Communications—£137,700
	The Audit Commission contracted with Consolidated Communications, a communications and public relations company, in 2006 and 2007 during a period of substantial reorganisation of its publishing and media relations. Consolidated offered advice and support, replacing functions that, temporarily, were not available in house.
	Fishburn Hedges—£141,900
	In order to set up Comprehensive Area Assessment, the Audit Commission is creating, in collaboration with other inspectorates, new ways of reaching out to the general public, and providing them with information about how their areas are fairing. Graphics and branding specialists from Fishburn Hedges were appointed in autumn 2008 to carry out research and graphical development. The Audit Commission did not have these skills in house.
	A copy of this letter will be placed in Hansard.

Community Development: Finance

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many community projects formerly funded by her Department have had their funding from her Department discontinued in the last 12 months;
	(2)  how many community projects funded by her Department have started in the last 12 months.

Sadiq Khan: The Department provides funding to local authorities and national or regional Third Sector organisations for a range of projects and initiatives designed to support communities. However most community projects are funded locally and so information about the total number of projects started in the last 12 months or those which are no longer funded is not held centrally.

Community Relations: Religion

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 4 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 1644-5W, on community relations: religion, which organisations each of the regional faith forums has funded to date.

Sadiq Khan: Funding is provided to the forums by Communities and Local Government for them to take forward the regional strand of the inter faith framework, "Face-to-Face and Side-by-Side". The regional faith forums are not grant making bodies. However we are aware that in some circumstances they may fund third party organisations to support the wider regional implementation of the inter faith framework. We do not routinely collect this information but believe this to amount to no more than £10,000.00 nationally during 2008-09.

Councillors

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough of 17 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1101W, on councillors: Arun, whether the Audit Commission plans to require local authorities to disclose the bank account details of councillors held in their payroll databases as part of the National Fraud Initiative exercise for 2010-11.

Sadiq Khan: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I have asked the chief executive of the Audit Commission to write to the hon. Member direct.
	 Letter from Steve Bundred, 6 May 2009:
	Your Parliamentary question outlined above has been passed to me to reply.
	The 2010/11 National Fraud Initiative will collect data from local authorities beginning in October 2010. All local authorities are required to submit payroll data for all of their employees and councillors and the data fields submitted will include bank account numbers and sort codes. This information is used to detect undeclared bank accounts in circumstances where for example a benefit claimant has failed to declare income, but the actual account details are not disclosed. Data matches merely indicate whether two bank accounts are the same or different and neither the sort code or the account number is reproduced.
	A copy of this letter will be placed in Hansard.

Departmental Assets

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when her Department last reviewed its assets and land and property holdings with a view to identifying and disposing of surpluses.

Sadiq Khan: I refer the hon. Member to the Department for Communities and Local Government's Property Asset Management Plan published in March 2009, which sets out an overarching five year vision for corporate property assets and property services across the Department's group, comprising our central headquarters, the Government office network and all our other arms length bodies (ALBs). The plan is formally reviewed annually and is available on the CLG website:
	www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/assetmanagementplan
	I also refer the hon. Member to the Operational Efficiency Programme final report:
	www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/oep_final_report_210409_pu728.pdf
	which identifies the further work to be undertaken on the QEII Conference Centre.

Departmental Furniture

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough of 10 March 2009,  Official Report, column 313W, on departmental furniture, how many chairs were ordered from Herman Miller in 2007-08; and what the model and cost of each was, including value added tax.

Sadiq Khan: Pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) of 10 March 2009,  Official Report, column 313W, on departmental furniture, the number, model and cost of the chairs, including VAT, ordered from Herman Miller by the Department for Communities and Local Government in 2007-08 are detailed as follows.
	
		
			  Model  Quantity  Unit cost( 1 ) (£) 
			 Vista (visavis) 148 267.80 
			 Dean 16 381 
			 Hay 6 424 
			 (1) Inclusive of VAT

Empty Property: Essex

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many of the new houses completed in  (a) Essex and  (b) Castle Point constituency between 2003 and 2008 were vacant in October 2008.

Iain Wright: The information requested is not held centrally.
	The Council Tax Base and Council Taxbase supplementary (CTB1 and CTB1S) return, reported by local authorities to CLG, includes the total number of long term and short term vacancies in a local authority area.
	The following table gives the total number of vacant dwellings in Castle Point district authority and Essex at 6 October 2008, the latest date for which figures are available.
	
		
			  County/local authority  Number of long term empty dwellings (empty for more than six months)  Total number of empty dwellings 
			 Essex 6,223 18,365 
			 Castle Point 311 877 
			  Source:  Council Taxbase and Council Taxbase Supplementary (CTB1 and CTB1S) returns from local authorities. 
		
	
	Those dwellings vacant for less than six months are more likely to be empty for a short period following a sale before the new owner occupies it, where the property needs work to be carried out before it can be occupied, or where the property is in probate and are seen as 'transactional' vacant dwellings and are thus a characteristic of the housing market.
	It is therefore sometimes more appropriate to look at long term vacancies rather than the total number of vacant dwellings.

Fire Services

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the  (a) original estimated and  (b) current estimated (i) cost and (ii) completion date is of the (A) Durham, (B) Warrington, (C) Wakefield, (D) Castle Donington, (E) Wolverhampton, (F) Cambridge, (G) Taunton, (H) Fareham and (I) Morden regional control centre of the FiRe Control project; and if she will make a statement.

Sadiq Khan: There was no capital outlay for the buildings as the Department procured them through a private developer scheme. The lease cost was established through the procurement. The risk of construction costs rested with the developer. The FiReControl Business Case Part 2, published in November 2008, available in the House Library outlines lease costs.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew) on 27 January 2009,  Official Report, column 346W, which outlines the practical completion date for each region.

Fire Services: Industrial Disputes

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough of 10 March 2009,  Official Report, column 316W, on fire services: industrial disputes, whether  (a) her Department and  (b) the Government Offices for the Regions hold copies of the contingency plans of fire and rescue authorities in the event of industrial action in the fire service.

Sadiq Khan: We do not hold copies of the contingency plans prepared by fire and rescue authorities in relation to industrial action.

Fire Services: Industrial Disputes

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what arrangements are in place for the provision of fire cover in the event of national industrial action by firefighters.

Sadiq Khan: The provision of fire cover within a fire and rescue authority in the event of industrial action, is the responsibility of that fire and rescue authority, whether the dispute is local or national in extent.

Fire Services: Labour Turnover

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many firefighters have  (a) entered and  (b) left the fire and rescue service in the last 12 months.

Sadiq Khan: The latest data available on the number of firefighters entering and leaving the fire and rescue service is for 2007-08 and is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Firefighters entering and leaving the fire and rescue service, England, 2007-08 
			   Joiners  Leavers 
			 Whole-time 1,014 1,467 
			 Retained 752 1,130 
			 Total 1,766 2,597

Fire Services: Uniforms

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department has spent on the design of new uniforms for fire and rescue services; and what public consultation it carried out on the design.

Sadiq Khan: A nationally available contract for the provision of uniforms, Personal Protective Equipment and other clothing was awarded by Firebuy Ltd., as the national procurement body for the English fire and rescue service, to Bristol Uniforms Ltd. in 2007. The design of the new uniforms was undertaken by this supplier. Firefighers and union representatives were consulted on the design as part of the garment trials in 2006, to which Communities and Local Government contributed £190,000. The views of the general public were also considered through surveys conducted in 2007. Firebuy have subsequently participated in presentations on the new uniform to fire and rescue authorities.

Government Offices For The Regions

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of the Government Office Network's Places handbook.

Sadiq Khan: The Places Handbook has been developed as a tool to help Government Office (GO) staff and their partners support the delivery of government policy. It is an on-line Handbook that provides quick and easy access to a range of analytical and delivery tools and techniques, as well as links to appropriate data sources. As the Places Handbook is an on-line facility I have been advised that it is not suitable for placing in the Library. Instead, I am providing the email link to the Places Handbook which is accessed by the public via the internet:
	http://www.gos.gov.uk/placeshandbook/

Green Belt: East Midlands

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what changes the East Midlands Regional Plan proposes to make to green belt designation and protection in the region.

Sadiq Khan: The East Midlands Regional Plan, published on 12 March 2009, makes no specific changes to green belt designation in the East Midlands. However, the Three Cities Sub-Regional Strategy Policy 2 (Sub-Regional Priorities for Green Belt Areas) states that:
	"The principle of the Nottingham-Derby and Burton-Swadlincote green belts will be retained. However a comprehensive review of the most sustainable locations for growth within the Nottingham Core HMA and Hucknall will be required urgently to consider how to accommodate future growth requirements over at least the next 25 years. As this may include considering locations within the green belt, when implementing this review through their local development documents, local planning authorities will have regard to:
	the level of growth proposed in Regional Plan Policy 13a and in Three Cities SRS Policy 3 identifying the locations for future development;
	sustainable development principles;
	the principles and purposes of including land in Green Belt set out in PPG2; and
	where changes to the Green Belt are proposed, the retention of existing, or creation of new, defensible boundaries based on natural features or other barriers such as major roads.
	This review will need to be done as part of the evidence base underpinning the next RSS review."

Homes and Communities Agency: Finance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 27 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 1111-12W, on Homes and Communities Agency: finance, how much each local authority will receive from the £50 million to enable local authorities to deliver new social housing; and how many homes she expects to be delivered through that funding.

Margaret Beckett: The allocation of grant funding is dependent on the bids submitted by local authorities. Likewise the number of homes delivered will depend on the details of the bids submitted, for example whether they are flats or houses.

Housing Benefit

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what proportion of  (a) registered social landlords and  (b) local authority tenants were in receipt of housing benefit in each of the last five years.

Iain Wright: Estimates of the proportions of registered social landlord and local authority tenants in receipt of housing benefit from 2002-03 to 2006-07 are provided in the following table. These estimates are based on data from the Survey of English Housing.
	
		
			  Social sector households in receipt of housing benefit, England, 2002-03 to 2006-07 
			   Tenure  
			   Local authority  Registered social landlord( 1)  All social renters  (percentage)  Total number of social renters  (Thousand) 
			 2002-03 64 60 62 2,483 
			 2003-04 64 59 62 2,428 
			 2004-05 62 61 61 2,366 
			 2005-06 62 60 61 2,357 
			 2006-07 63 63 63 2,489 
			 (1) Sometimes referred to as Housing Associations.  Source:  Communities and Local Government, Survey of English Housing 
		
	
	Survey based estimates of the separate numbers of local authority and registered social landlord tenants are not considered robust as a significant number of registered social landlord tenants wrongly report that they are local authority tenants, typically when ownership has transferred due to a large scale voluntary transfer.

Housing Market

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the written ministerial statement of 8 December 2008,  Official Report, columns 24-26WS, on home buying and selling, who the members of the working group on home condition reports are; and what declaration of political activity each has made.

Margaret Beckett: The membership and terms of reference of the "Working Group on Condition Information in the Home Buying and Selling Process" are available on the CLG website at:
	www.communities.gov.uk/housing/buyingselling/homeconditionworkinggroup
	There is no requirement on the members of the working group to declare political activity.

Housing: Low Incomes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 23 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 886-7W, on housing: low incomes, what budget has been established for the  (a) the National Affordable Housing Programme,  (b) Decent Homes,  (c) the Community Infrastructure Fund,  (d) support for the Department for Work and Pensions programme of Support for Mortgage Interest and  (e) other housing and regeneration programmes in (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10 and (iii) 2010-11.

Sadiq Khan: The following table includes capital budgets for each of the listed areas in 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11:
	
		
			  Programme 
			  to nearest £ million( 1) 
			   2008-09  2009-10  2010-11 
			 National Affordable Housing programme 2,629 3,471 2,299 
			 Decent Homes 1,291 1,278 848 
			 Community Infrastructure Fund 37 123 160 
			 Support for Mortgage Interest (DWP programme) 0 40 55 
			 Other housing and regeneration programmes (Growth Areas and Thames Gateway, Regional Housing Pot, Housing Market Renewal and the Homes and Communities Agency's Property and Regeneration programme) 1,272 1,462 1,243 
			 (1) Figures are provisional and may be subject to amendment through the financial year 
		
	
	In addition, £108/£152/£147 million resource (near cash) has been made available for other housing and regeneration programmes. These figures do not include additional funding to support the housing market announced in the Budget on 22 April 2009:
	
		
			  Programme 
			  to nearest £ million 
			   2009-10  2010-11  Total 
			 Stalled sites fund 320 80 400 
			 Local authority house building 30 70 100 
			 Housing energy efficiency 75 30 105

Housing: Low Incomes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what percentage of HomeBuy applicants have registered an interest in  (a) the First-Time Buyers Initiative,  (b) HomeBuy Direct,  (c) Rent to HomeBuy,  (d) MyChoice HomeBuy,  (e) Open Market HomeBuy and  (f) OwnHome;
	(2)  what the average period between an applicant first making an application and a decision being taken on that application has been for the  (a) HomeBuy Direct,  (b) OwnHome,  (c) OpenMarket HomeBuy,  (d) the First-Time Buyers Initiative,  (e) MyChoice HomeBuy,  (f) New Build HomeBuy,  (g) Social HomeBuy and  (h) Rent to HomeBuy scheme in each of the last three years;
	(3)  what targets have been set for HomeBuy agents to process applications; and what steps are in place to ensure that agents process applications within an acceptable time;
	(4)  what percentage of people registering for HomeBuy to date have expressed an interest in New Build HomeBuy.

Margaret Beckett: The data sought on expression of interest and applications is not held centrally.
	Under the terms of their contract with the Homes and Communities Agency, HomeBuy Agents who administer the HomeBuy scheme and the First-Time Buyers Initiative are required to send applicants confirmation of their eligibility status within eight working days of receipt of a fully completed application form.
	HomeBuy agents are required to provide a monthly self-assessment of compliance against Key Performance Standards, which are monitored by, and discussed with, the Homes and Communities Agency at regular contract review meetings.

Housing: Low Incomes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of her Department's expenditure on  (a) OwnHome,  (b) New Build HomeBuy,  (c) HomeBuy Direct,  (d) Rent to HomeBuy,  (e) Social HomeBuy,  (f) the First-Time Buyers Initiative,  (g) Open Market HomeBuy and  (h) MyChoice HomeBuy in each of the next three years; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what costs her Department has incurred in the administration of  (a) OwnHome,  (b) New Build HomeBuy,  (c) HomeBuy Direct,  (d) Rent to Buy HomeBuy,  (e) Social HomeBuy,  (f) the First-time Buyers Initiative,  (g) Open Market HomeBuy and  (h) MyChoice HomeBuy on the latest date for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  what her Department's total expenditure was on  (a) OwnHome,  (b) New Build HomeBuy,  (c) HomeBuy Direct,  (d) Rent to HomeBuy,  (e) Social HomeBuy,  (f) the First-time Buyers Initiative, (g) Open Market HomeBuy and  (h) MyChoice HomeBuy to date.

Margaret Beckett: The Homes and Communities Agency expenditure to the end of 2008-09 on  (a) OwnHome,  (b) New Build HomeBuy,  (c) HomeBuy Direct,  (d) Rent to HomeBuy,  (e) Social HomeBuy,  (f) First-time Buyers Initiative,  (g) Open Market HomeBuy and  (h) MyChoice HomeBuy is as follows:
	
		
			£ million 
			  (a) OwnHome 22 
			  (b) New Build HomeBuy 639 
			  (c) HomeBuy Direct 0 
			  (d) Rent to HomeBuy 88 
			  (e) Social HomeBuy 3 
			  (f) First-time Buyers Initiative 213 
			  (g) Open Market HomeBuy(1) 350 
			  (h) My Choice HomeBuy 115 
			 (1) Includes OwnHome and My Choice HomeBuy 
		
	
	On expenditure on Social HomeBuy in the local authority sector I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 9 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 1693-694W.
	£400 million has been made available for the HomeBuy Direct scheme. In addition, a proportion of the £400 million announced in the Budget to unlock stalled housing developments will also be spent through HomeBuy Direct. Scheme funding is currently available up to the end of 2010-11. The precise level of spend will depend on take-up.
	Expenditure on the First Time Buyers Initiative is forecast to be around £13 million in 2009-10, with no further expenditure in future years.
	We have not allocated specific funds in 2009-10 and 2010-11 for the other categories listed to allow full flexibility within the National Affordable Housing Programme operated by the Homes and Communities Agency.
	Future estimated levels of expenditure beyond 2010-11 will be dependent upon the next spending review.
	The administration costs incurred by Communities and Local Government for the HomeBuy programme and the First Time Buyers' initiative form part of the overall cost for the policy and delivery of affordable housing.

Housing: Low Incomes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 27 April 2009,  Official Report, column 1117W, on housing: low incomes, which local authorities offer cash incentive schemes to assist their tenants in purchasing houses;
	(2)  how many houses have been sold via local authority cash incentive schemes in each year since 1997.

Iain Wright: As reported by local authorities through the 2007-08 Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix, the following local authorities in England provided cash incentive scheme grants, under section 129 of the Housing Act 1988, to assist tenants to acquire an interest in a new home in 2007-08:
	Barnet
	Bournemouth UA
	Camden
	Carrick
	Chesterfield
	Croydon
	Dartford
	Ealing
	Enfield
	Hackney
	Hammersmith and Fulham
	Harrow
	Hillingdon
	Ipswich
	Kingston upon Thames
	Lambeth
	Lewisham
	Mid Devon
	North Cornwall
	North Hertfordshire
	Norwich
	Purbeck
	Redbridge
	Redditch
	Selby
	South Cambridgeshire
	St. Albans
	Tendring
	Three Rivers
	Tower Hamlets
	Wandsworth
	Warwick
	Watford
	West Somerset
	Westminster
	Woking
	Wycombe
	The figures supplied count only the number of local authorities giving cash incentive scheme grants under section 129 of the Housing Act 1988, and they also do not include any local authorities offering cash incentive scheme grants under these provisions where none were taken up in the year.
	The Department does not collect data on the number of properties purchased with the assistance of cash incentive scheme grants, but for the number of cash incentive scheme grants made in each year since 1997 in England under section 129 of the Housing Act 1988, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 554-56W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Regent's Park and Kensington, North (Ms Buck).

Local Government

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the remit of her Department's lean sigma six for local government initiative is.

Sadiq Khan: Six Sigma, or any other business transformation technique, is not specifically recommended for use in local government by the Department. The National Process Improvement Project (NPIP), funded by the department and run by London borough of Lewisham, asked pilot local authorities to examine the application of a variety of service transformation tools and techniques to different service areas, and created best practice guidance to their use based on generic principles and irrespective of specific methodology.
	This guidance forms part of the Business Improvement Package:
	www.bip.rcoe.gov.uk
	and is in the process of being fully transferred to the local government sector with regional improvement and efficiency bodies taking forward the learning on a regional basis.

Local Government Information Unit

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough of 10 March 2009,  Official Report, column 318W, on the Local Government Information Unit: finance, for what project the Local Government Information Unit provided consultancy services in 2008; and whether the Unit produced a report on the project.

Sadiq Khan: Pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) of 10 March 2009,  Official Report, column 318W, further investigation has found that in 2008 the Local Government Information Unit in fact provided research services rather than consultancy services for 'The Role of Councillors to inform the Commission on Local Councillors'.
	A paper was produced and assisted in informing and producing the report of the Councillors Commission, titled 'Representing the Future'. This was presented to the Secretary of State and published for wider dissemination in December 2007.

Local Government Information Unit

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Peterborough of 10 March 2009,  Official Report, column 318W, on the Local Government Information Unit: finance, for what project the Local Government Information Unit provided consultancy in 2009; and what the reimbursed legal fees related to.

Sadiq Khan: In 2009 the Local Government Information Unit was paid for research work prepared earlier for the "Learning Network on the Role of Councillors in Neighbourhood Working- LGR 65/12/174" project.
	The reimbursement of legal fees related to the legal costs incurred by LGIU in consulting on extension/termination of arrangements regarding a secondment to Hazel Blears' office.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many months arrears are required for a homeowner to be eligible for assistance under  (a) the Mortgage Rescue scheme and  (b) the Homeowner Mortgage Support scheme.

Margaret Beckett: Neither the Mortgage Rescue scheme nor Homeowners Mortgage Support have a requirement for households to be in arrears for a specified period in order to access the schemes.
	For the Mortgage Rescue scheme, lenders are expected to demonstrate that they have used their full range of hardship tools—including in most cases three months' forbearance—before a household applies for support.
	For Homeowners Mortgage Support, households need to have demonstrated that they have had a temporary loss of household income and to have been making regular payments (but not necessarily in full) in agreement with their lender for at least five months.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government within how many years of purchase must a home be repossessed in order for mortgage lenders to be eligible for payment under the Homeowner Mortgage Support scheme.

Margaret Beckett: Homeowners Mortgage Support will enable eligible borrowers who suffer a temporary loss of income to cut their mortgage interest payments for up to two years to help them get back on track with their finances and avoid repossession. The Government will guarantee the lenders against a proportion of any loss incurred on the deferred interest payments in case the borrower defaults.
	The period in which claims can be made under the guarantee will last for four years after the borrower comes off the scheme. As a condition of participation in the scheme, lenders will need to commit to best practice in forbearance when the borrower exits the scheme, and agree reasonable and affordable repayment schedules, with the aim of keeping any subsequent repossessions to a minimum.
	A claim would be made once the property had been sold, if the equity remaining in the property was insufficient to clear the debt. The period of four years was set following discussions with stakeholders to ensure that repossession is prevented wherever possible, and is always a last resort.
	Following this period, the liability returns to the lender, since it is assumed that a household still remaining in their home for that long will be continuing to make normal payments by that time.

Travelling People: South East

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 28 April 2009,  Official Report, column 1181W, on Travelling people: South East, how many responses to the South East England Regional Assembly consultation were received; and how many were returned for being discriminatory;
	(2)  from what source the South East England Regional Assembly took its legal advice on the treatment of responses to its consultation.

Iain Wright: I have nothing to add to the answer I gave to the hon. Member on 28 April 2009,  Official Report, column 1181W.

Charities: Bank Services

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 17 October 2008,  Official Report, column 1577W, on local government: bank services, what information  (a) the Office of the Third Sector and  (b) the Charity Commission received from (i) the Financial Services Authority, (ii) the Bank of England and (iii) HM Treasury on the level of risk associated with charities investing in Icelandic banks between October 2007 and October 2008.

Kevin Brennan: The Office of the Third Sector received no information from the Financial Services Authority, the Bank of England and HM Treasury on this issue.
	I have asked the Charity Commission to reply to the question as it refers to it.
	 Letter from Andrew Hind , dated May 2009:
	As the Chief Executive of the Charity Commission, I have been asked to respond to your written Parliamentary Question on the information the Charity Commission received from (i) the Financial Services Authority, (ii) the Bank of England and (iii) HM Treasury on the level of risk associated with charities investing in Icelandic banks between October 2007 and October 2008.
	The Charity Commission received no information from these bodies on this issue.
	As the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, the role of the Charity Commission is not to provide advice to charities on specific investments but to provide advice on the general powers and duties of trustees in relation to the investment of charitable funds. As such, our guidance for charities states that the fundamental principle governing trustees' decisions about investing their charity's funds is that they must take a prudent approach, considering both the suitability for their charity of any investment and the need for diversification.
	This guidance specifically emphasises that, before making investments and when reviewing them, trustees must obtain and consider advice from a suitably qualified adviser, unless the size of the funds available for investment is so small that seeking investment advice wouldn't be cost effective.
	The Commission itself is legally prohibited from offering specific investment advice to individual charities.
	I hope this is helpful.

Ammunition: Exports

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2009,  Official Report, column 19W, on ammunition: exports, how many of the 67 licences related to exports to each country.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 5 May 2009
	 The Government publish summary details of export licences issued, refused and revoked in their annual and quarterly reports on strategic export controls. This is broken down by destination, including a summary of the items covered by these licences.
	The Government's annual reports, published since 1997, and quarterly reports, published since 2004, are available from the House of Commons Library and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) website at
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/publications/publications/annual-reports/export-controls1
	The latest date for which information is available is 31 December 2008.
	The annual report summary for munitions that are designed to create illumination or to act as an incendiary fall under the following goods descriptions:
	Smoke hand grenades, smoke ammunition, signal flares, signal hand grenades, signal flares, incendiary hand grenades and illuminators.
	The reports do not break down goods descriptions beyond this level of detail.

Better Regulation Executive: Manpower

John Penrose: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the  (a) annual budget and  (b) number of staff employed by or in support of (i) the Better Regulation Executive and (ii) the Local Better Regulation Office has been in each year since their creation.

Ian Pearson: The Better Regulation Executive (BRE) was established in May 2005. Its budget was £7.6 million in 2006-07; £7.0 million in 2007-08 and £6.7 million in 2008-09. In 2005-06, the BRE inherited a budget of £3.9 million from the Regulatory Impact Unit (RIU). However, the BRE's workload was greater than the RIU and therefore in this year the BRE incurred an overspend.
	The BRE employed 96 employees in 2005-06; 94 in 2006-07, 94 in 2007-08 and 99 in 2008-09.
	The Local Better Regulation Office (LBRO) was established in September 2007 and had a budget of £2.0 million in 2007-08 (£4 million pro rata); and £4.4 million in 2008-09. Additionally, the Welsh Assembly Government has commissioned the LBRO to undertake further specific work in Wales. In 2008-09, this grant was £234,000.
	The LBRO employed a total of 24 employees in 2007-08 and 29 employees in 2008-09.

Manufacturing Industries

Mark Prisk: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the  (a) terms of reference,  (b) estimated cost and  (c) planned final reporting date are of Mark Gibson's review of engineering and construction industry productivity; what Mr Gibson's fee and expense arrangements are for conducting the review; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The terms of reference of the review of productivity and skills in the engineering construction sector (the Gibson Review) are:
	Building on the previous (2005) study commissioned by the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board the review would:
	Assess the state of productivity in engineering construction in the UK (as 2005)
	Identify the key inhibitors to productivity including skills aspects (as 2005)
	Compare productivity levels with those experienced on overseas sites (as 2005)
	Identify changes in practice, and factors, and their effect on productivity in the period since the ECITB 2005 review
	Identify specifically the factors influencing success for UK-based companies bidding for UK and foreign, especially other European Union, engineering construction contracts (over the last six years)
	Make recommendations on:
	Ways to improve skills and productivity in the UK engineering construction industry.
	What steps small firms can take to compete and to develop new skills and technologies in process
	Strengthening the links between procurement of major public projects and provision of training through methods such as contracting
	How procurement practices can be geared to support productivity in UK firms
	The estimated costs of the review are £250,000. The majority of these costs relate to staff time for BERR and DIUS officials in the review team.
	There is no firm deadline for the completion of the review, although this is expected to be around autumn, 2009.
	Mark Gibson is employed by the Whitehall and Industry Group (WIG). Mr Gibson's services in connection with the review are covered by a contract between BERR and WIG to the value of £6,375 plus expenses, plus VAT.
	WIG is an independent, not for profit, politically neutral organisation, whose purpose is to encourage better understanding between business and Government. Mr Gibson will not benefit personally from the contract.

Nigeria: Exports

George Young: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he plans to reach a decision on the application for an export licence for goods for Nigeria referred to in the letter from the right hon. Member for North West Hampshire of 22 September 2008, and subsequent correspondence of 6 and 31 October 2008 and 23 March 2009.

Ian Pearson: An export licence for these goods was issued on 23 April 2009.

Royal Mail: Profits

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much profit General Logistics Service made in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 12 March 2009
	General Logistics Systems made a £114 million operating profit before exceptional items for the financial year 2007-08. For the first six months of financial year 2008-09 (period April to September 2008) it made an operating profit before exceptional items of £59 million.

Small Businesses

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many small businesses operate in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and (d) England.

Ian Pearson: The following table shows the number of small business in the north-east and England at the start of 2007. Data for 2008 will be available in autumn 2009.
	Businesses are classified as small if they have between zero and 49 employees.
	
		
			   Number of small businesses 
			 North-east 132,480 
			 England 4,032,400 
			  Source: BERR SME Statistics 2007: http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/sme/ 
		
	
	Estimates of the total number of small businesses (registered and unregistered) are only available at national and regional level, and not at parliamentary constituency level.
	However, figures are available for the number of businesses registered for VAT and/or PAYE to parliamentary constituency level. These figures exclude the very smallest businesses and we estimate that only 45 per cent. of businesses are registered for either VAT or PAYE.
	The following table shows the number of registered small businesses in the Jarrow constituency and South Tyneside as of March 2008.
	
		
			   Number of registered small business 
			 Jarrow constituency 1,320 
			 South Tyneside 2,380 
			  Source: Office for National Statistics—'UK Business: Activity, Size and Location—2008' http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=933

Alcoholic Drinks: Sales

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effect on anti-social behaviour of levels of sales of alcohol from off-licences.

Vernon Coaker: No specific assessment has been made on the effect on antisocial behaviour of levels of sales of alcohol from off-licenses, however the Government are aware that alcohol is a factor in some instances of antisocial behaviour and a number of actions have been taken to address the issue. These include the provisions in the Policing and Crime Bill which will introduce a mandatory code for all alcohol retailers, and will give licensing authorities new powers to clamp down on specific problems in their areas. We have also given £3 million to Crime and Disorder Reduction partnerships (CDRPs) in order to undertake multi-agency enforcement activities on specific alcohol-related problems. We have made available a further £1.5 million to our top 50 priority areas which have the highest levels of alcohol-related crime and disorder and public concern about drunk or rowdy behaviour. This money has been used to tackle under age sales, to confiscate alcohol from under 18s and to run communications campaigns to tell local people what action is being taken in their area.
	A number of antisocial behaviour tools and powers are also available which include written warnings, home visits, Acceptable Behaviour Contracts, Parenting Orders/Contracts, Crack house and premises closure orders, antisocial behaviour orders and dispersal zones. We have recently just finished a series of 13 regional Alcohol Enforcement Skills Development training workshops for front-line practitioners covering the use of these tools and powers and those available under the Licensing Act. In addition, we are legislating to improve these powers, including increasing the fine for anyone not obeying an instruction to stop drinking in a Designated Public Place Order (DPPO) area, making it easier for the Police to disperse antisocial drinkers, and introducing a new offence of persistent underage possession. We are also encouraging wider use of Acceptable Behaviour Contracts and have recently extended the alcohol arrest referral pilots to include under 18s. We are working across Government to take these actions forward.

Assaults on Police

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many assaults on police constables per 100,000 population were recorded in each police force area in  (a) 2003-04 and  (b) 2004-05.

Vernon Coaker: Data for assaults on all officers in England and Wales were published by HMIC at the time. Links to these publications are provided below.
	http://inspectorates.homeoffice.gov.uk/hmic/docs/HMIC_Annual_Report_2003-04.pdf
	http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc0506/hc08/0842/0842.pdf

Asylum

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer from Lord West of Spithead of 29 October 2008,  Official Report, House of Lords, column WA165, on asylum seekers, how her Department ensures that asylum seekers with grounds to make an appeal or fresh claim are given the opportunity to do so before attending a re-documentation interview.

Phil Woolas: Where an asylum claim falls to be refused, and the consequent immigration decision attracts a right of appeal, applicants are notified how to appeal and by when. The United Kingdom Border Agency is not required to wait for any appeal right to be exercised or any lodged appeal to be concluded before a re-documentation interview is arranged.
	Case owners give full consideration to further representations, including whether they amount to a fresh claim, and decide on a case by case basis whether it is appropriate to suspend the re-documentation process in the light of those representations. The re-documentation interview is not prejudicial to the consideration of further representations or the outcome of any appeal.

Asylum

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications in the Legacy casework system were made in each of the last seven years.

Phil Woolas: The work to clear the backlog of asylum cases was announced to Parliament in July 2006.The chief executive of the UK Border Agency provided an update on clearing the backlog of older cases to the Home Affairs Select Committee on 8 December 2008 and the next update is expected in the summer. To provide this information would involve a detailed examination of all our case records which would incur a disproportionate cost.

Asylum

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when a decision will be made on the application for asylum by a constituent of the hon. Member for North East Milton Keynes, Sima Salamat, Home Office reference number S1011503.

Phil Woolas: The UK Border Agency sent a reply to the hon. Member on 30 April 2009.

Asylum: Finance

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were granted section 4 support in each of the last five years; and how many people were in receipt of section 4 support in each of those years.

Phil Woolas: The table shows the number of failed asylum seekers granted section four support and those who were in receipt of section four support. Information on the number of failed asylum seekers receiving section four support is only available from March 2005.
	The number of failed asylum seekers granted section four and the number of people in receipt of section four support is published on a quarterly and annual basis.
	The latest publication covering the fourth quarter of 2008 is available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research Development and Statistics website at
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
	
		
			  Number of asylum seekers who were granted section 4 support and in receipt of section 4 support, excluding dependants, 2005 to 2008( 1,2) 
			  Number of principal applicants 
			   Decisions to grant section 4  Persons in receipt of section 4 at the end of the period 
			 2005 10,235 5,145 
			 2006 6,025 6,555 
			 2007(3) 6,705 9,140 
			 2008(3) 9,110 10,295 
			 (1) Figures rounded to the nearest five. (2) Information on Section 4 support prior to April 2007 is understated due to data quality issues associated with previous recording systems. The process of recording data on ASYS (the support database) improved the quality of the information. (3) Provisional figures.

Asylum: Finance

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 19 March 2009,  Official Report, column 69WS, on asylum support, in which areas the plastic payment card system for the administration of section 4 support is to be piloted; how many asylum seekers will be involved in the pilot programme; what the planned timetable for the pilot programme is; what the aims of the pilot programme are; what estimate she has made of the cost of the pilot programme; what criteria will apply in respect of its assessments; when she expects to publish an evaluation of the pilot programme; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The introduction of the Section 4 Support Card will be piloted in London and the north-west regions and the plan is to issue the card to around 200 people.
	The date for commencing the pilot programme has not yet been determined and planning for the pilot programme is at an early stage. I am unable to provide any more information at the present time. There are no plans to issue a statement.

Asylum: Finance

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 19 March 2009,  Official Report, column 69WS, on asylum support, if she will provide section 4 support for asylum seekers in cash; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: There are no plans to begin paying section 4 support to failed asylum seekers in cash.

Asylum: Terrorism

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of those arrested on suspicion of terrorist offences since 11 September 2001 have at some point claimed asylum.

Phil Woolas: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Community Relations

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2009,  Official Report, column 312W, on community relations, when she expects Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary to report its findings in relation to its inspection of police Prevent activity.

Vernon Coaker: Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary are nearing completion of their inspection of police Prevent activity, and plan to report their findings in May 2009, a month later than previously planned.

Community Relations: Finance

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2009,  Official Report, column 1482W, on community relations: finance, how many of the 33 projects aimed at disrupting violent extremism will be delivered by subcontractors; and how the performance of those subcontractors will be monitored.

Vernon Coaker: Our delivery partners (subcontractors) are contributing to the delivery of 16 of the 33 projects aimed at disrupting violent extremism. Where they are being used, a number of systems are in place to monitor delivery including:
	Internal evaluation schemes;
	Project Board meetings or monthly update meetings;
	Independent evaluation;
	Progress reports;
	Agreed action plans.

Community Relations: Finance

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2009,  Official Report, column 1481W, on community relations: finance, which of the grass roots projects aimed at tackling radicalisation funded by her Department are being delivered by subcontractors; and what measures are in place to monitor the performance of such subcontractors.

Vernon Coaker: The nine projects that are funded by the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism Prevent Unit are being delivered by subcontractors. The arrangements in place to monitor these projects are through a third sector intermediary and their evaluation is overseen by internal researchers.

Community Relations: Finance

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 1481-82W, on community relations: finance, what projects aimed at preventing violent extremism are being undertaken by youth offending and youth secure establishments; and whether any of these projects are being run by subcontractors.

Vernon Coaker: There are currently 40 operational projects in Youth Offending Teams, Young Offender Institutions and Secure Training Centres across England and Wales that the Youth Justice Board have responsibility for. A further nine are due to undertake projects with immediate effect.
	Projects range from mentoring to sport and arts based activities to civil and community lead initiatives. Project work with young people across the criminal justice sector ranges from light touch prevention projects working with those young people who have yet to enter the criminal justice arena, to more tailored interventions with young people on community and custody orders.
	Youth Offending Teams, Young Offender Institutions and Secure Training Centres have been actively encouraged to work with a range of different community and third sector partners. They have also been encouraged to align to the local authority's local Preventing Violent Extremism delivery plan, which they must feed into. This process will limit the possibilities of duplication in projects and funding.
	Funding has been given to the Youth Offending Teams, Young Offender Institutions and Secure Training Centres and the Youth Justice Board has an established audit and accounting process already in place with these establishments. In addition, progress is overseen by the Youth Justice Board's Preventing Violent Extremism Programme Board and governance structures within the Office of Security and Counter-Terrorism also provide oversight and challenge. The University of Huddersfield has been contracted to provide independent evaluation of the effectiveness of the programmes.

Community Relations: Finance

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the Prevent strategy has cost in each year since its inception; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Prevent Strategy was launched in October 2007. Total Home Office spending in 2007-08 was under £2 million. The United Kingdom's Strategy for Counting International Terrorism published in March 2009 sets out the cost of key deliverables in 2008-09 and this includes more than £140 million across Government on the Prevent Strategy.

Community Security Trust

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will place a copy of her speech to the annual dinner of the Community Security Trust on 2 March 2009 in the Library; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: A copy of the Home Secretary's speech to the annual dinner of the Community Security Trust on 2 March is available on the Home Office website at
	http://press.homeoffice.gov.uk/Speeches/speech-community-security-trust

Demonstrations: Parliament Square

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many  (a) males and  (b) females in each age group were arrested during the demonstration in Parliament Square on 20 April 2009; how many have been charged with offences committed during that demonstration; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many police officers of each rank took part in policing the demonstration held in Parliament Square on 20 April 2009; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office does not hold this information. These are operational matters for the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.

Demonstrations: Parliament Square

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what steps she  (a) has taken and  (b) plans to take to ensure that Parliament Square is kept free of demonstrators on parliamentary sitting days; what recent representations she has received on this issue; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  if she will commission a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on the policing of the demonstration held in Parliament Square on 20 April 2009; what steps the police  (a) have taken and  (b) are planning to take to clear Parliament Square of demonstrators; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Government are committed to protecting and facilitating the right to peaceful protest. Police tactics and decisions on policing protests are matters for the independent judgment of chief officers of police. We have made it clear that there should be no unnecessary restrictions on the right to protest in the vicinity of Parliament. Following our consultation exercise last year on Managing Protest around Parliament, we announced our intention to repeal the relevant provisions in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. We intend to do that as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Demonstrations: Parliament Square

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many arrests the police have made of persons demonstrating in Parliament Square and adjacent areas since 3 April 2009 under section 132 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 for the offence of demonstrating without authorisation in a designated area;
	(2)  how many items have been confiscated by the police from Tamil demonstrators in Parliament Square and in lieu of arrest under the provisions of section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000 since the commencement of the protest;
	(3)  how many arrests the police have made in connection with the Tamil protest in Parliament Square and adjacent areas since its commencement; for what offence or offences each individual has been arrested; and how many of these arrests were made of the offence of display of support for an organisation proscribed under section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office does not hold this information. These are operational matters for the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.

Demonstrations: Parliament Square

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the daily cost of policing the ongoing demonstration in Parliament Square has been; how many police officers of each rank are taking part in policing the demonstration; how many  (a) males and  (b) females in each age group have been arrested since 21 April 2009; how many have been charged with offences committed during that demonstration since 21 April 2009; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office does not hold this information. These are operational matters for the Commissioner of the Metropolitan police.

Departmental Data Protection

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of contractors and suppliers to  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies have reported that they are compliant with the Government's security standards following publication of the report, Data Handling Procedures in Government, and the accompanying document, Cross-departmental Actions: Mandatory Minimum Action, on 25 June 2008.

Phil Woolas: All contractors have been informed of the requirements.
	In addition, in September 2008 each major Home Office supplier was sent a letter to a named, senior individual in the organisation reminding them of their responsibilities regarding data handling and requesting sight of the suppliers policy. A self assurance model is being developed, supplemented by a risk based audit regime on suppliers.
	A supplier conference has been held which specifically included a presentation on the approach to data handling and supplier obligations.
	The Home Office is using the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) model services contract which contains the revised security terms and guidance to reflect the recommendations contained in the Data Handling Procedures in Government report for all new contracts.

Departmental ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) printers and  (b) multi-function devices with printing functions were in use in each division of her Department in each of the last five years; how many such devices had a function enabling two-sided printing; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Home Office operates a large scale, multi vendor supply chain delivering a wide range of ICT categories. Service capacity utilisation and the number of printers and multi-functional devices with printer capability are managed by our suppliers as part of the service offering. The information requested the hon. Member is not therefore available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, the Home Office is working towards a ratio of one printer per 20 people and work is under way to review and rationalise data centres and to convert network printers to duplex capability where practicable.
	The Home Office, in line with all other Chief Information Officers (CIOs) on the CIO Council, has produced a "CIO Green ICT Roadmap" which we will be following to deliver against the 18 target improvement areas outlined in the Greening Government ICT Strategy.
	The CIOs and Chief Technology Officers (CTO) Council of the Cabinet Office have completed the CIO Green ICT Roadmap baselines for all of its CIOs including local government representatives and agencies.
	A full report of the CIO Council Green ICT Roadmaps will be made available in May featuring the action plans of all Departments involved in the council against the 18 steps. A final "one year on" report will be issued by the Cabinet Office in July. The CIO/CTO Council Green ICT Delivery Unit will refresh its annual CIO key objectives against the latest developments in technology and advances in carbon measurement which will be circulated for comment to all CIOs and relevant Departments this summer.
	The Home Office is directly represented on the CIO/CTO Council Green ICT Delivery Unit and is responsible for providing support to the development of the pan-government Greening Government ICT Strategy and leadership.

Departmental Surveys

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on staff surveys in each of the last five years; and which companies were contracted to carry out the surveys.

Phil Woolas: The Home Office Headquarters (HQ) and the United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA) ran joint staff surveys in 2004, 2005 and 2008; all of the surveys were run by ORC International. HQ and UKBA together spent £75,459 on the 2004 Staff Survey, £65,578 on the 2005 survey, and £66,338.64 for the 2008 survey.
	The Criminal Records Bureau used Ipsos MORI to run a staff survey in each of the last five years. The cost of running the 2006 survey was £24,120, and in 2007 it cost £25,180. Exact figures are unavailable for 2004, 2005 and 2008 but each survey cost approximately £25,000.
	The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) has run two surveys over the last five years: in 2005, using Ipsos MORI; and in 2007 using Jigsaw. IPS are unable to provide the cost of the survey in 2005 without incurring a disproportionate cost but the 2007 staff survey cost £65,823.

Detainees: Young People

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many children aged  (a) under five,  (b) five to 10 and  (c) 10 to 15 years old have been held in immigration removal centres in the UK in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many children aged  (a) under five years old,  (b) from five to 10 years old and  (c) from 10 to 15 years held in immigration removal centres in the UK have been held there for (i) less than six months, (ii) between six and 12 months, (iii) 12 to 24 months and (iv) longer than 24 months.

Phil Woolas: The requested information is not available. The Home Office has however published the number of adults and children recorded as leaving detention in the UK solely under Immigration Act powers by length of detention between January 2005 and September 2006.
	Information for each year is available from the Library of the House and in Table 9.4 of each year's Asylum Statistics United Kingdom publication published each August
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/hosb1407.pdf
	Information outside this time period is not available.
	National Statistics on the total number of children detained on a quarterly snapshot basis by length of detention is available in Table 11 of the Control of Immigration Quarterly Statistical Summary United Kingdom publication
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/immiq408.pdf
	and from the Library of the House.

Detection Rates: Staffordshire

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the detection rate for crimes of  (a) violence against the person,  (b) robbery,  (c) burglary in a dwelling,  (d) theft of a motor vehicle and  (e) theft from a vehicle was in each basic command unit in the Staffordshire Police Authority area in each of the last 10 years.

Alan Campbell: The information requested is given in the table. Statistics at basic command unit level are only available from 1999-2000 onwards.
	It should be noted that non-sanction detections that contribute to the percentage change in detection rates have fallen in recent years reflecting a significant shift by many police forces away from recording detections of crime where no further action is taken. For this reason overall detection rates over time are not fully comparable. From 1 April 2007 the rules governing recording of non-sanction detections were revised to reduce the scope within which they can be claimed to a very limited set of circumstance.
	
		
			  Detection rates for selected offences in Staffordshire basic command units( 1) 
			  Percentage detected 
			   1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03( 1)  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			  Violence against the person  
			 Chase 65 52 42 71 72 71 66 63 44 
			 North Staffordshire 54 44 32 69 71 70 71 71 47 
			 Stoke on Trent 57 50 41 68 70 66 67 63 49 
			 Trent Valley 54 60 38 67 65 63 65 62 48 
			   
			  Robbery  
			 Chase 31 30 18 32 31 22 17 27 17 
			 North Staffordshire 26 32 18 25 23 25 26 19 17 
			 Stoke on Trent 21 20 20 21 22 24 42 32 20 
			 Trent Valley 25 24 22 24 20 35 17 15 15 
			   
			  Burglary in a dwelling  
			 Chase 15 14 17 24 23 24 16 20 21 
			 North Staffordshire 10 8 10 13 16 12 17 19 8 
			 Stoke on Trent 8 11 11 15 23 20 23 21 18 
			 Trent Valley 12 12 20 20 22 22 14 15 10 
			   
			  Theft of motor  
			 Chase 14 12 13 19 19 17 16 20 19 
			 North Staffordshire 9 8 10 39 20 20 21 21 15 
			 Stoke on Trent 10 10 12 17 22 21 21 24 22 
			 Trent Valley 10 10 13 18 13 22 15 17 13 
			   
			  Theft from vehicle  
			 Chase 6 4 5 14 7 13 6 14 11 
			 North Staffordshire 3 3 5 17 11 4 8 7 7 
			 Stoke on Trent 5 4 3 11 9 15 12 14 15 
			 Trent Valley 5 4 3 8 7 10 8 10 6 
			 (1) The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced in 2002-03 and detections data before and after that date are not directly comparable.  Note: From 1 April 2007 the rules governing recording of non-sanction detections were revised to reduce the scope within which they can be claimed a very small limited set of circumstances. This has significantly reduced the number of non-sanction detections which has been reflected in the overall detection rates.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many student visas were granted to applicants from  (a) Pakistan and  (b) Algeria in each of the last 10 years.

Phil Woolas: The number of student visas issued to nationals of Pakistan and Algeria in each of the last five calendar years is shown in the table. Data held for previous years is not considered to be reliable.
	
		
			   Nationality 
			  Student visas issued  Pakistan  Algeria 
			 2004 13,683 337 
			 2005 9,765 281 
			 2006 13,372 417 
			 2007 12,300 532 
			 2008 9,663 338 
			 Total 58,783 1,905 
			  Note: The data is unpublished and should be treated as provisional.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether people who are outside the UK may apply to be subject to the transitional arrangements under the Tier 1 for post-study workers.

Phil Woolas: People outside the UK are not able to apply for leave to enter under the transitional arrangements for Tier 1 (post study work).

Firearms: Crime

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many violent crimes involving a firearm were recorded in  (a) Hemel Hempstead and  (b) Hertfordshire in each of the last 10 years.

Alan Campbell: Available information relates to violence against the person crimes recorded by Hertfordshire police, in which firearms (excluding air weapons) were reported to have been used from 1998-99 up to and including 2007-08. The data cannot be broken down to a more local level.
	
		
			  Violence against the person crimes involving firearms( 1)  (excluding air weapons): Hertfordshire police force area, 1998-99 to 2007-08 
			   Recorded crime  (n umber of offences ) 
			 1998-99 12 
			 1999-2000 5 
			 2000-01 17 
			 2001-02(2) 9 
			 2002-03(3) 48 
			 2003-04 66 
			 2004-05 86 
			 2005-06 69 
			 2006-07 43 
			 2007-08 69 
			 (1) Firearms are taken to be involved in a crime if they are fired, used as a blunt instrument, or used as a threat. (2 )Figures for some crime categories may have been inflated by some police forces implementing the principles of the National Crime Recording Standard before 1 April 2002. (3) The national Crime Recording Standard was introduced on 1 April 2002, which may have resulted in inflated figures for some crime categories. Figures before and after this date are not directly comparable.

Forced Marriage

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of forced marriages which took place in  (a) Luton,  (b) Bedfordshire and  (c) East of England region in the last 12 months.

Vernon Coaker: The Government's Forced Marriage Unit (a joint Home Office and FCO Unit, established in 2005) deal with a significant number of forced marriage cases every year. In 2008, the unit began keeping more detailed statistics on all reportings of forced marriage that were referred to the FMU. These statistics are not broken down by local area, but are broken down by regions.
	During the whole of 2008 the unit received reports of over 1,600 possible forced marriage cases. Of those who gave a location, 5 per cent. were in the eastern region.

Forced Marriage

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding her Department is providing for specialist support for organisations dealing with forced marriage in 2009-10; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Campbell: Following a successful pilot in 2008 the joint Home Office/Foreign and Commonwealth Office Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) has allocated £84,000 to its Domestic Programme fund for 2009-10. Specialist organisations will shortly be invited to apply for funds for project activities which support delivery of the FMUs 2009 and 2010 action plan. The Unit also separately funds support and awareness raising activity overseas, including in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.
	The Home Office has also allocated a total of £3.5 million to the nine Government offices for the regions and the Welsh Assembly for 2009-10 to support initiatives to tackle domestic violence. A number of regions have chosen to allocate specific funding to local initiatives tackling forced marriage in their areas.

Forced Marriage: Hertfordshire

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of forced marriages which took place in  (a) Hemel Hempstead and  (b) Hertfordshire in the last 12 months.

Vernon Coaker: The Government's forced marriage unit (a joint Home Office and FCO unit, established in 2005) deal with a significant number of forced marriage cases every year. In 2008, the Unit began keeping more detailed statistics on all reporting's of forced marriage that were referred to the FMU. These statistics are not broken down by local area, but are broken down by regions.
	During the whole of 2008 the unit received reports of over 1600 possible forced marriage cases. Of those who gave a location, 5 per cent. were in the Eastern region.
	Of these reporting's, the unit intervened to provide direct support in 420 cases. Of these cases 213 were assistance cases where interventions were made overseas, and 207 were reluctant sponsor cases where immigration support was given.

G20: Greater London

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with the Commissioner of the Police for the Metropolis on the policing of the G20 demonstrations in the City of London on 1 April 2009; and what assessment she has made of effectiveness of the use of the kettling procedure to control demonstrators.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Secretary has regular discussions with the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police which have included the policing of the G20 protests.
	Tactics used to police protests are operational matters for the chief officer of the force concerned. The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police has invited HMIC to review the police tactics involved in policing G20, including containment, to assess their effectiveness.

Illegal Immigrants

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many clandestines were detected in vehicles attempting to enter the UK from France in 2008.

Phil Woolas: From 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2008 a total of 28,007 attempts by clandestines to enter the UK illegally were prevented This figure includes multiple attempts made by individuals. The clandestines were detected by the UK Border Agency, alongside its partners at the Juxtaposed controls in Calais, Coquelles and Dunkerque.
	 Note
	These figures have been sourced from locally collated management information held within locally accessed computer systems and do not represent National Statistics. They have not been the subject of National Statistics protocols and verification and should therefore be treated as provisional and subject to change.

Immigration

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  when she expects local immigration teams to be operational;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the likely cost of local immigration teams in 2009;
	(3)  what role the police will play in local immigration teams;
	(4)  what recent discussions she has had with representatives of  (a) local authorities and  (b) police forces on the local immigration team scheme.

Phil Woolas: Local immigration teams are being delivered as part of a rolling programme from 2009 to the end of 2011. Nine are already operational. We expect national coverage by operational local immigration teams to be in place by December 2011.
	Local immigration teams will be delivered from within the UK Border Agency's overall operational budget for the next three years.
	These teams work will focus on the prevention and disruption of illegal activity and the arrest and removal of offenders. To disrupt illegal immigrants, the local teams will be backed by Immigration Crime Partnerships with the police. The police will work with immigration officers as equal partners in integrated teams to tackle organised immigration-related criminality as well as bringing a solution to those who are in the UK illegally and committing crime.
	UK Border Agency regional directors are leading the discussions with stakeholders in their regions.

Immigration Controls

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications under the Highly-Skilled Migrants programme have been received in each year since the programme began.

Phil Woolas: The following table shows the number of highly skilled migrant applications received in each year since the programme began.
	
		
			  Number of highly skilled migrant applications received( 1)  in each year 2002-08 
			   Number 
			 2002 2,495 
			 2003 6,575 
			 2004 23,845 
			 2005 38,620 
			 2006 51,590 
			 2007 56,975 
			 (1) Figures include review applications.  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to nearest five. 2. The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and has been derived from local management information and is therefore provisional and subject to change.

Immigration Controls

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many failed applicants under the Highly-Skilled Migrants programme have subsequently been deported;
	(2)  what the average cost of completing deportation proceedings against failed applicants under the Highly-Skilled Migrants programme was in the latest period for which figures are available.

Phil Woolas: The Home Office publishes statistics on the number of persons removed and departed voluntarily from the UK on a quarterly and annual basis. National Statistics on immigration and asylum are placed in the Library of the House and are available from the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html
	These statistics are categorised by asylum or non-asylum removals and it is therefore not possible to disaggregate the numbers of those who have been removed after a failed application under the Highly Skilled Migrants Programme from the overall figures for removals without the examination of individual records at disproportionate cost.
	Removals are delivered from within the UK Border Agency's overall operational budget. It is not possible to provide a figure for the average cost of removing a failed applicant under the Highly Skilled Migrants Programme because there are many different factors which may or may not be involved in the cost of a case (such as detention costs, travel costs, and the cost of escorting the individual in question). We are unable to disaggregate the specific costs and any attempt to do so would incur disproportionate cost.
	The National Audit Office (NAO) gives a breakdown of the cost of typical asylum cases in 2007-08 in part four of their report 'The Home Office Management of Asylum Applications by the UK Border Agency' which was published on 23 January 2009. Although this refers specifically to asylum applicants, it provides an indication of the average costs of removing a person from the UK under a range of different circumstances. The report is available for viewing at:
	http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/0809/management_of_asylum_appl.aspx
	However, the UK Border Agency aims to ensure removals are effected at the lowest available rate subject to operational needs

Immigration: Romania

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will hold discussions with representatives of the government of Romania on the number of people from that country who were refused entry to the UK on the grounds that their presence would threaten public policy, public security or public health since 2007.

Phil Woolas: There are ongoing discussions with the Romanian Government, including at the JHA Council in April, on various issues. HM Government have no current plans to meet with the Government of Romania on the number of Romanian citizens refused entry to the UK due to their presence being a threat to public policy, public security or public health. Any individual refused entry to the UK is dealt with on a case by case basis.

Immigration: Security Guards

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people applying for work as guards with the Security Industry Authority were asked to prove their immigration status in the latest year for which figures are available; how many of these did so; and how many of those found to be without the right to work  (a) appealed,  (b) appealed successfully and  (c) had an appeal challenged by the UK Border Agency.

Vernon Coaker: All applications for licences to the Security Industry Authority (SIA) from non-EEA nationals are automatically checked for the Right to Work by the UK Border Agency at the request of the SIA.
	From 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009, 28,892 checks were conducted. Of these, 25,165 were confirmed as having the Right to Work.
	There were 3,727 who did not have the right to work, or where the UKBA had no trace of the applicant.
	Out of the 3,727, a total of 1,196 contacted the SIA to claim that they had the right to work. Of these 1,041 were successful in having their right to work confirmed and 155 were unsuccessful. During the same period there were 27 appeals to the courts of which 20 were upheld, three were dismissed and four are awaiting a court ruling.

Members: Correspondence

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Macclesfield of 23 March 2009, Ref M7032/9, UKBA Ref M1368250, on indefinite leave to remain, sent on behalf of his constituent Mrs Chatellon Matibag.

Phil Woolas: The Deputy Chief Executive of the UK Border Agency replied to the letter on 24 April.

Metropolitan Police: Complaints

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many complaints have been made against police officers serving in the Metropolitan Police for concealing shoulder numbers in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many police officers serving in the Metropolitan Police have been disciplined for concealing shoulder numbers in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: This data is not held by the Home Office. The Metropolitan Police Service may be able to provide such information.
	The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is responsible for the collation and annual publication of police complaints and discipline statistics. However, these statistics are not broken down to the level of detail requested.

Reparation by Offenders: Publicity

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department has spent on its advertising campaign Justice Seen, Justice Done to date.

Vernon Coaker: The Justice Seen Justice Done Campaign comprised two elements—communications about the new Policing Pledge and communications about Community Payback.
	The total media spend on the Policing Pledge campaign was £3,427,521.The total media spend on Community Payback campaign was £621,266

Stop and Search: Essex

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals were found to be carrying illegal  (a) weapons and  (b) drugs during stop and search procedures by the police in (i) West Chelmsford constituency and (ii) Essex in each of the last 10 years.

Vernon Coaker: Information on the number of arrests arising from stop and search procedures for illegal weapons and drugs in Essex police force area from 1998-99 to 2007-08 (latest available) are provided in the table.
	The information reported to the Home Office on searches is broken down at police force area level only and cannot separately identify arrests resulting from searches conducted in the West Chelmsford constituency area.
	
		
			  Number of persons arrested for the possession of offensive weapons and drugs after stop and search procedures by police in Essex police force area, 1998-99 — 2007-08 
			   Stops and searches under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984  Searches in anticipation of violence under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 
			   Arrests for offensive weapons  Arrests for drugs  Number of arrests for possession of offensive weapons or dangerous instruments 
			 1998-99 55 491 — 
			 1999-2000 76 354 — 
			 2000-01 73 408 — 
			 2001-02 90 308 — 
			 2002-03 97 339 — 
			 2003-04 91 300 1 
			 2004-05 127 309 3 
			 2005-06 118 286 1 
			 2006-07 109 270 — 
			 2007-08 133 432 2 
			  Note:  Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when these data are used.

Territorial Support Group: Complaints

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many complaints were received against officers of the Territorial Support Group in  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2008; and how many such complaints have been received in 2009 to date;
	(2)  how many allegations of assault were made against officers of the Territorial Support Group in  (a) 2007,  (b) 2008 and  (c) 2009 to date; and of these, how many were (i) upheld, (ii) allegations of assaults against ethnic minorities and (iii) allegations of assaults against women.

Vernon Coaker: This data is not held by the Home Office. The Metropolitan Police Service may be able to provide such information.
	The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is responsible for collecting the general complaint statistics that are published annually. However, these statistics are not broken down to the specific policing duty area where the officer works.

Terrorism: Anthrax

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what assessment has been made of the level of risk of anthrax infection to workers in Government department postal sections arising from the terrorist action; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what guidance her Department has given to companies on the vaccination of key workers against anthrax infection arising from terrorist action;
	(3)  whether personnel in the 18 chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear preparedness centres planned in the Government's Contest counter-terrorism strategy will be vaccinated against anthrax infection;
	(4)  what assessment she has made of the likely effects on public health of the release of anthrax spores on a platform at a deep-level London Underground station serving multiple Underground lines; and if she will make a statement;
	(5)  which manufacturers of vaccines against anthrax are represented on  (a) the security and resilience suppliers community (RISC) and  (b) the RISC chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear industry advisory group;
	(6)  what steps her Department took following the spreading of anthrax contamination by postal means in the US in 2001; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: From 2001, and following the anthrax incidents in the United States of America, the United Kingdom's Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Resilience programme has provided the framework for comprehensive planning and preparation for dealing with the possible consequences of a CBRN attack. In addition, the Government's wider Counter Terrorism Strategy (CONTEST) deals, among other things, with all aspects of protection to the public, including security advice to the private sector. While for security reasons it would be inappropriate to detail all aspects of such planning, the Government's approach is to prevent terrorists from obtaining or using hazardous materials; to put in place safeguards to protect the public, public places or critical national infrastructure from such attacks; and to ensure that measures are in place to reduce the impact of any such attack should it occur. The Health and Safety Executive has, for example, produced guidance on "Biological/Chemical Threats by Post" and general advice to businesses is provided by the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure.
	With regard to anthrax vaccine, the HPA is the sole manufacturer of the UK's licensed anthrax vaccine. The vaccine is manufactured for and on behalf of the UK Government. As a public body, the HPA is not a member of RISC. Routine vaccination against anthrax is generally used only to protect individuals who may be exposed to anthrax in the workplace (for example working with animal hides).

Terrorism: Convictions

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of indictments on charges of terrorism has resulted in convictions in the last two years.

Vernon Coaker: The information required will be contained in the Statistical Bulletin on Terrorism Arrests and Outcomes which is due to be published shortly. The data contained in the Statistical Bulletin is recorded up until 31 March 2008.
	Statistics for 2008-09 are expected to be published in late 2009.

Terrorism: Crime Prevention

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional training is proposed for employees of  (a) civil nuclear facilities, including research laboratories, and  (b) military bases in support of the resilience strategy set out in the report, The United Kingdom's Strategy for Countering International Terrorism.

Vernon Coaker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Ministry of Defence are among the wide range of stakeholders involved in the delivery of the strategy for countering international terrorism, including work to mitigate the impact of a terrorist attack and to recover from its aftermath. Civil nuclear installations in the UK operate within a strict regulatory regime. Robust emergency plans are in place to ensure an effective response in the event of an emergency at a civil nuclear site. These plans are subject to regular exercise and review. We do not comment on the arrangements for security of military facilities for obvious reasons.

Theft: Motor Vehicles

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department has taken to reduce the incidence of vehicle crime in rural areas since 2005.

Vernon Coaker: The Government are committed to ensuring that the response to motor vehicle and other motor vehicle enabled crime is as effective as possible.
	CDRP/CSPs are required to prioritise the crime types and problems of most concern locally based on a robust strategic assessment. This involves an appropriately differentiated approach between areas.
	Total recorded offences against vehicles fell by 20 per cent. between 2004-05 and 2007-08.
	We also know from BCS statistics published in July 2008 show that theft of vehicles fell by over 21 per cent. from 2005-06 to 2007-08, and that theft from vehicles fell by over 14 per cent. over the same period.
	66 per cent. of vehicle crime involves theft from vehicles, and this is being tackled through local crime prevention initiatives such as reminding drivers about leaving items visible in vehicles.
	Success in the reduction of theft of vehicles has been achieved, in part, through successful problem solving—particularly in reducing repeat victimisation and improved vehicle security which has been achieved by partnership working between the Government, motor manufacturers and insurers.
	British Crime Survey statistics consistently show that crime is lower in rural areas. The following table shows the percentage of households in each area type that were victims of vehicle related thefts:
	
		
			  Vehicle crime 
			  Percentage 
			   Urban  Rural 
			 2005-06 8.3 4.3 
			 2006-07 8.3 4.6 
			 2007-08 7.2 3.7

Vehicle Number Plates

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what period of time police forces are allowed to retain data acquired via automatic number plate recognition systems.

Vernon Coaker: Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) data is, in general, retained for the first 90 days after collection, for viewing by authorised persons for post-crime interrogation and investigation. This enables investigations to use the ANPR tool to identify suspects, witnesses or patterns.
	Some data maybe retained for up to two years, however, this data is partitioned from general viewing. A senior officer (superintendent or above) must authorise any access to data older than 90 days. This authorisation is restricted to serious crime and counter-terrorism investigations only.
	The Association of Chief Police Officers is currently revising its guidance around data retention.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to answer question 247959, on loss of departmental property, tabled on 12 January 2009.

Phil Woolas: Question 247959 was answered on 22 April 2009,  Official Report, column 160.

Children in Care

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children in council care homes subsequently moved into private housing in  (a) Leeds West constituency,  (b) the Leeds metropolitan area and  (c) England in the last five years.

Beverley Hughes: Information on the number of looked after children in private housing is not collected centrally by the Department.
	However information on the number of looked after children placed in homes is available from tables A3 and LAA2 in the Statistical First Release entitled 'Children looked after in England (including adoption and care leavers) year ending 31 March 2008', which is located at
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000810/index.shtml
	Table A3 (national level) can be found within the 1st set of national tables and table LAA2 (local authority level) can be found within the 1st set of additional tables.

Children: Databases

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole of 20 April 2009,  Official Report, column 233W, on children: databases, if he will place in the Library a copy of each letter and email.

Beverley Hughes: These documents form part of the normal and ongoing implementation process between my Department and the local authorities. A considerable amount of time and money, both centrally and locally would be required to ensure that they did not include material that:
	was provided in confidence;
	identified individuals;
	was commercially or technically sensitive.
	I believe to make these documents available would inhibit the free and frank exchange of views which is critical to the success of projects of this nature, and therefore they will not be published.

Children: Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to page 66 of The Protection of Children in England: a progress report, HC330, what recent estimate he has made of vacancy rates within child protection teams.

Vernon Coaker: I have been asked to reply.
	Information on the vacancy rates within child protection teams is not recorded centrally. It is for individual chief constables to assess their own staffing priorities and decide how best to address the vacancy rates within child protection teams.
	The Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families intends to publish a detailed action plan in response to Lord Laming's recommendations on 6 May 2009.

Schools: Influenza

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of schools with the capacity to provide education remotely in the event of school closure necessitated by a flu pandemic;
	(2)  what guidance his Department has issued to schools on contingency preparations for a flu pandemic;
	(3)  what scientific advice the Government has received on the appropriate time to issue advice to schools on closures in the event of a pandemic;
	(4)  what provisions he plans to make to support students with special educational needs in the event of school closures owing to a pandemic;
	(5)  what steps he has taken to ensure that schools have stocks of  (a) personal protective equipment and  (b) personal cleansing materials necessary in the event of an influenza pandemic;
	(6)  what steps he plans to take to keep schools informed of the levels of infection in their areas in the event of an influenza pandemic;
	(7)  what guidance he has issued to schools on measures to ensure that children are able to make up learning foregone because of school closures during any pandemic.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department issued guidance in 2006 on contingency measures for pandemic flu, which we supplemented with guidance on infection control (2007) and remote learning in the event of a school closing for an extended period (2008). The Department sent out reminders in the week commencing 27 April 2009 that the guidance is available. We also drew the attention of local authorities, schools and others to the raising of the World Health Organisation's level of alert to phase 5 and the increased urgency for existing plans to be reviewed, drawing on the Department's guidance. The Department issued a note to schools and local authorities on 5 May 2009, which included a comprehensive brief on issues of interest to the education sector.
	The pandemic flu and infection control guidance were informed by advice from the Health Protection Agency. Local authorities have a responsibility for vulnerable children in their area and they must plan to ensure that essential services can operate for the provision of education for all children including those with special educational needs. Our guidance on infection control includes advice on the use and disposal of personal protection equipment and clothes and the use of cleansing materials. It is for schools and local agencies to liaise on making these available.
	The Department has set out in its guidance to schools and children's services on planning for a human influenza pandemic, the communication channels through which it would communicate any decisions that schools should close or re-open.
	The remote learning guidance referred to above aims to help the provision of ongoing education in the event of a school not being able to open. It is our belief that this will lessen the impact on pupils' learning because their school is closed due to pandemic flu.

Insulation: Housing

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 27 April 2009,  Official Report, columns 1128-9W, on insulation: housing, how many homes have been insulated since the commencement of the heat and energy saving strategy; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: The Heat and Energy Saving Strategy (HESS) consultation, published on 12 February, seeks views on our long-term strategy to deliver energy and carbon savings through the next decade and beyond. In particular, the package of policies under consideration aims to ensure we are capable of living within our proposed carbon budgets during the period to 2022, and that we can achieve our target to cut UK greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent. by 2050. We aim to publish a finalised strategy by the end of the year.
	In the meantime, our existing package of policies, including the carbon emissions reduction target (CERT); the Warm Front scheme; and the Decent Homes programme, is continuing to roll-out insulation measures to GB homes. We estimate that well over 1 million homes have been insulated in the last 12 months under these schemes.

Renewable Energy: Heating

Charles Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what procedures Ofgem uses to assess the suitability of renewable heating products for funding through programmes associated with the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: Ofgem assesses renewable heating products in a number of ways as different types of information are required to demonstrate compliance with the CERT obligation.
	Manufacturers of heat pumps are required to demonstrate a seasonal coefficient of performance (CoP) of the units and the percentage of heat load they provide. If the seasonal CoP is not known then a field trial on 10 installations is required. For each installation, the energy supplier is required to confirm which fuel has been displaced as a result of the installation and the type of supplementary heating used if need be. This allows Ofgem to estimate how much carbon each installation saves using a methodology developed for this purpose.
	Ofgem requires that between 3 and 4m(2) of solar water heating panelling (evacuated tube and flat plate respectively) is installed per property, which is calculated to be an appropriate size for each property type.
	Installation of the domestic biomass boilers must meet the standards outlined in the guidance to the Building Regulations.
	Each of these domestic renewable technologies above and installers of these technologies is required to be accredited by the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MSC) or equivalent to ensure the quality of the technology and installation. This means that each technology promoted through CERT must comply with the standards specified by the MCS. In addition, each installer is recommended to be registered by the REAL Assurance Scheme.
	Evaluation of each communal biomass boiler installation is assessed on a case by case basis. The supplier is required to provide: the existing site heat demand, type of heating system (fuel and system efficiency), information about the biomass boiler including its seasonal efficiency, type of wood and its calorific value and moisture content, annual fuel supply and details of the back-up system. Suppliers are also required to check whether an installation may take place in a smoke control area in which case only exempted appliances may be used.

Higher Education: Admissions

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether a financial penalty will be imposed on higher education institutions for over-recruitment against the admission figures prescribed by the Higher Education Funding Council for England for 2009-10; and whether universities which made offers to their applicants prior to 15 January 2009 will be treated differently to institutions which made offers after that date.

David Lammy: We are determined to maintain arrangements both for the funding of institutions and support for students that meet needs but are at the same time sustainable. If universities over-recruit, these objectives are jeopardised. We made this clear to institutions last October when we asked HEFCE to "work up contingency measures that could be used to reduce the risk of institutions over recruiting". HEFCE reiterated this message in November when it asked institutions to "review their planned recruitment for 2009/10". Our grant letter to HEFCE repeated this position by asking the Council to "minimise and preferably eliminate over recruitment in 2009/10" and reinforced this by saying that "any over-recruitment in the coming year could result in a transfer of HEFCE grant back to this Department, in order to meet the consequent unanticipated student support costs in that or future years".
	As we have been entirely consistent in signalling the particular importance of controlling over recruitment, HEFCE will treat all institutions in the same way when responding here.

Housing: Carbon Emissions

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps he has taken to improve skills in the house-building sector in order to assist progress towards the Government's 2016 target for zero carbon homes.

Si�n Simon: There will be real challenges in responding to the skill needs of the house-building industry in the next few years. Through our continued investment in skills we want to support the house-building and wider construction industry so that they are ready for the upturn and have the skilled workforce required to meet the 2016 target and the demands of a low carbon economy.
	The Zero Carbon Hub, established by the Department for Communities and Local Government, aims to ensure that industry can work with Government and other stakeholders to overcome any barriers to delivery. The skills and training strand of this work will establish the industry's current level of knowledge about building to low and zero carbon home standards, and determine any areas where additional skills and training are required and which agencies are best placed to support this. The Homes and Community Agency (HCA) has a parallel skills action plan, supported by DIUS, to ensure the development of sustainable communities.
	ConstructionSkills (the Sector Skills Council for Construction) are working with the Zero Carbon Hub, the HCA and the UK Green Building Council to understand the wider skills needs of sustainable construction. The results of this research will inform training development and the future shape of qualifications.
	Through the Sector Compact agreed with ConstructionSkills in June 2008, some 133 million of Train to Gain funding will be available over three years to support the priority skills needs of the construction sector including house-building. Compacts will be reviewed regularly to ensure they continue to meet the needs of employers in the sector in the light of the need for economic renewal and to address the new and emerging skills needs. We have also established an Apprenticeship Task Force with employers, trade unions, educationalists and Government to review the approach to apprenticeships within the sector, and how it might be expanded and improved.

Measurement

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 421-2W, on trading standards: weights and measures, what changes to enforcement guidance  (a) have been made and  (b) are being made in relation to the prosecution of traders using imperial scales by local authorities.

David Lammy: The information is as follows:
	  (a) None.
	  (b) Discussions are continuing between Government and the Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS) on the updating of LACORS' guidance on the enforcement of units of measurement legislation. This guidance will reflect an update to Directive 80/181/EEC and will be available to local authority trading standards departments in advance of the changes to UK law which will be implemented before the end of 2009.

Departmental Air Conditioning

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent by his Department on carrying out inspections of air conditioning systems within departmental buildings in accordance with the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 since the Regulations came into force.

Jonathan R Shaw: The costs to DWP are included in the overall facilities price of the Department's PFI contract. The cost to the Department's supplier, Telereal Trillium, to date is 67,000.

EU Globalisation Fund

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if his Department will co-ordinate a UK bid for funds from the EU Globalisation Fund; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: In England, (different arrangements apply in the Devolved Administrations), Regional Development Agencies, with their partners, are responsible for coordinating an immediate response to large redundancies. They are aware of the availability of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) and would make the initial decision about whether a bid would add value to their response. The European Social Fund (ESF) has already been used to invest in Jobcentre Plus, its Rapid Response Service and Train to Gain, the combination of which have already proved to be effective in helping workers and areas affected by restructuring. The EGF must not duplicate use of the ESF but as long as any bid, that were to come forward to my Department, met the criteria, it would receive full consideration.

Housing Benefit

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average amount claimed by a housing benefit recipient was in each of the last three years.

Kitty Ussher: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Average amount of housing benefit in each of the last three years for which figures are availableGreat Britain 2005-07 (weekly). 
			   Great Britain () 
			 August 2005 63.64 
			 August 2006 67.47 
			 August 2007 71.44 
			  Notes: 1. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated. 2. Housing benefit figures exclude any extended payment cases. 3. Average amounts are rounded to the nearest penny. 4. From February 2007, DWP has been collecting more detailed HB/CTB data electronically from local authorities. Over time this will improve the accuracy, timeliness and level of detail available in the published statistics. However, until the new data has been fully quality assured to National Statistics standards, the most recent summary statistics available are for August 2007. 5. This information is available online at: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/hbctb.asp.  Source: Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System Quarterly 100 percent caseload stock-count taken in August 2005, 2006, and 2007.

Incapacity Benefit

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have been removed from incapacity benefit because they do not have enough points to continue to qualify in the last 12 month period for which figures are available.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 22 April 2009
	The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  The number of incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance benefit terminations in the most recent 12 month period 
			   All  Other reasons  Failed either own occupation test or Personal Capability Assessment 
			 November 2007 175,600 145,900 29,100 
			 February 2008 163,500 134,200 28,900 
			 May 2008 170,600 139,000 31,100 
			 August 2008 172,600 134,800 37,200 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are subject to a high degree of sampling error and should only be used as a guide. 2. These figures have been updated to include late notified terminations. 3. Personal Capability Assessment was formerly the 'All Work Test'. 4. Due to operational procedures a small number of Personal Capability Assessment terminations appear in 'Other reasons'. 5. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100 and total may not sum due to rounding.  Source: Department for Work and Pensions Information Directorate 5 per cent terminations dataset

Jobcentre Plus: Standards

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the performance of Jobcentre Plus in each  (a) region and  (b) Jobcentre Plus district against each of the indicators for its interventions delivery target (i) in each year since the target was launched and (ii) in each of the last 24 months.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what assessment he has made of the performance of Jobcentre Plus in each (a) region and (b) Jobcentre Plus district against each of the indicators for its interventions delivery target (i) in each year since the target was launched and (ii) in each of the last 24 months. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The Intervention Delivery Target (IDT) was introduced in April 2007.1 am therefore able to provide in month district and regional performance for the last 19 months to October 2008. This is because Jobcentre Plus has a time delay of approximately 4 months in its recording of data for IDT.
	The target for 2008/09 is made up of the following three components, and measures whether we conduct a number of our main interviews within a given time:
	85% of initial Incapacity Benefit work-focused interviews are conducted between week 9 and week 13 of the claim;
	85% of Income Support lone parent work-focused interview reviews that become due are conducted within 3 months; and
	90% of 13, 26, 52, and 78 week Jobseeker's Allowance interviews (including New Deal initial interviews) that become due are conducted within 6 weeks.
	These three components make up the overall national target of 86%, with each component having an equal share of the target.
	The target for 2007/08 was made up of the following four components, and measured the timeliness of several of our key mandatory work-focussed interviews:
	80% of initial Incapacity Benefit work-focused interviews are conducted after the end of the 8th week and up to the end of the 13th week stage of the claim;
	85% of Income Support Lone Parent work focussed interviews that become due are conducted within 3 months;
	85% of 13 and 26-week Jobseeker's Allowance advisory interviews that become due are conducted within 6 weeks; and
	90% of Jobseeker's Allowance Labour Market Interventions and follow up activity are conducted.
	These four components were used to make up the overall national target of 85%. Performance for the Interventions Delivery Target is the mean average of the four components weighted equally.
	As the components of the target within these 2 years differed slightly we would not recommend making any direct comparisons of the data.
	The available data has been placed in the Library.

Members: Correspondence

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to reply to the letter of 26 January from the hon. Member for Manchester Central regarding TW (ref: GREA01009/GAB); and what the reasons are for the time taken to respond.

Jonathan R Shaw: A reply to my hon. Friend's letter of 26 January regarding TW (ref: GREA01009/GAB) was given on 5 May 2009 and I apologise for the delay in doing so.

Social Security Benefits

Charles Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what explanatory and administrative provisions are in place to enable prospective eligible claimants to receive the 1,000 employer payment voucher available from Jobcentre Plus with effect from 6 April 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Jobcentre Plus staff have been made fully aware of the 1,000 recruitment subsidy through a series of internal communications. Supporting guidance about how to appropriately promote and administer the recruitment subsidy from 6 April 2009 was issued on 23 March 2009.
	Jobcentre Plus staff will promote the offer to eligible customers, as appropriate, and issue them with a voucher which they can use to approach employers seeking new employees. In addition, Jobcentre Plus is promoting the 1,000 offer to employers through an initial burst of media advertising across both print and online channels. This will take place from 6 April until 14 May and will feature in selected national press, trade publications and key business websites. All advertising will direct employers to go online to
	www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/1000
	to receive more information on the offer.
	In addition to this Jobcentre Plus have identified a list of key partner websites including Business Link, Train to Gain, and the UKCES, where messages to promote the offer will be held, alongside signposting back to the Jobcentre Plus site.
	All activity and take-up of the offer will be monitored and evaluated during May with a view to developing further plans to promote the offer if required.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with scientists working in the field of voice risk analysis technology on the accuracy of the technology being used by his Department to differentiate between high and low risk claims; and what use he has made of independent scientific evidence when evaluating the system;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the accuracy of voice risk analysis technology in recognising high-risk groups; and what estimate he has made of the level of risk of false positives arising from the use of voice risk analysis technology in relation to elderly callers;
	(3)  pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 11 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 19-20WS, on voice risk analysis, whether the technology being tested by his Department has been independently evaluated; what use has been made of control groups in which telephone advisers have not been using the technology in evaluating the results of the pilots; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department's evaluation of Voice Risk Analysis technology makes use of previously published research to help test the process and interpret the results.
	The Department has not entered into discussions with scientists outside of government at this stage.
	The Department has recently made available estimates of the accuracy of the process in recognising both high-risk and low-risk groups. I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement of 11 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 19-20WS.
	Analysis of the accuracy of the Voice Risk Analysis process amongst elderly callers has not been conducted as yet. Should the Voice Risk Analysis process demonstrate acceptable rates of accuracy in the general population, further work will be undertaken to assess accuracy with respect to differing demographic groups. The data from the phase two local authority trials will enable the Department to assess the risk of false-positives in relation to elderly callers.
	The Department has not commissioned independent experts to evaluate Voice Risk Analysis. The Department's evaluation is being conducted by Government Statisticians who are required to offer independent advice to support the policy formulation.
	The Department's evaluation assesses the accuracy of the Voice Risk Analysis process by comparing the risk found in both 'low' and 'high' risk groups and not through control groups. If the technology is effective, the rate of incorrectness of benefits in the 'high' risk group should be substantially higher than that in the 'low' risk group. This assessment of the difference between the two groups is supported by a range of statistical tests. This is an accepted technique for assessing the accuracy of this type of technology that does not rely on a separate control group.

Unemployment: Coastal Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will bring forward proposals to address seasonal unemployment fluctuation in seaside towns; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Analysis carried out in response to the 2007 CLG Select Committee report on coastal towns showed that seasonal work accounted for less than 1 per cent. of total employment in coastal towns, ranging from a low of 0.4 per cent. of employment in winter to at most 1.7 per cent. in the summer months.
	The extent to which seasonal employment affects coastal towns varies across area, reflecting their differing labour market characteristics. This underlines the need for local and regional interventions which are sensitive to local requirements and their interrelationships with the surrounding areas.
	Regional Development Agencies are supporting coastal towns through their Regional Economic Strategies with a wider focus on the broader objectives of addressing employment, enterprise and skills in coastal areas.
	Where seasonal employment is a key driver of the local economy this needs to be considered as part of the wider regeneration and economic development of the local area and inform the regional economic strategy and local area agreement process.
	The Department for Work and Pensions, through Jobcentre Plus, provides a national system of help and support to those affected by unemployment, wherever they live. People are able to make use of the job matching service available through local Jobcentre Plus offices or the internet. Fast track access to more intensive support is available to individuals facing particular labour market disadvantages and tailored help is available through the New Deal and Pathways to Work programmes for those claiming other welfare benefits, such as lone parents or those with a health problem or disability.